Catholicism is the largest branch of Christianity with 1.329 billion[1] and the Catholic Church is the largest among churches. Figures below are in accordance with the Annuario Pontificio, at 2018.[1] The total figure does not include independent Catholic denominations (18 million).
Protestantism is the second largest major group of Christians by number of followers. Estimates vary from 800 million to a billion, or nearly 40% of all Christians.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The main reason for this wide range is the lack of a common agreement among scholars as to which denominations constitute Protestantism. For instance, most sources but not all include Anabaptism, Anglicanism, Baptists and Independent Nondenominational Christianity as part of Protestantism.[25] Moreover, Protestant denominations altogether do not form a single structure comparable to the Catholic Church, or to a lesser extent the Eastern Orthodox Communion. However, several different comparable communions exist within Protestantism, such as the Anglican Communion, World Communion of Reformed Churches, World Baptist Alliance, World Methodist Council and the World Lutheran Federation. Regardless, 900 million is the most accepted figure among various authors and scholars, and thus is used in this article. Note that this 900 million figure also includes Anglicanism, as well as Anabaptists, Baptists and multiple other groups that might sometimes disavow a common "Protestant" designation, and would rather prefer to be called, simply, "Christian".[18]
Historical Protestantism – 300–400 million
The number of individuals who are members of historical Protestant Churches totals to 300-400 million.[20]
Anglicanism – 110 million
There are about 110 million Christians in Anglican tradition,[26][27] mostly part of the Anglican Communion, the third largest Christian denomination in the world.
Anglican Church in North America – 0.09 million[58]
Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa – 0.09 million[59]
Baptist churches – 75–105 million
The number of individuals who hold membership in the Baptist denomination totals to 75-105 million, being represented in the following Churches:[20][60]
The number of adherents in the Lutheran denomination totals to 70-90 million persons, being represented in the following Churches:[20][70]
Evangelical Church in Germany - 21.1 million (10.5 million United Protestants, i.e. Lutheran & Reformed; 10.3 million Lutherans; 0.3 million Reformed)[71]
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus – 8.3 million[72]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – 6.5 million[73]
The Plymouth Brethren number around 1 million members.[201]
Hussites – 1 million
Moravians – 0.825 million
Czechoslovak Hussite Church – 0.14 million
Unity of the Brethren – 0.035 million
Quakers – 0.4 million
Modern Protestantism – 400–500 million
The denominations listed below did not emerge from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century or its commonly acknowledged offshoots. Instead, they are broadly linked to Pentecostalism or similar other independent evangelical and revivalistic movements that originated in the beginning of the 20th century.[202] For this reason, several sources tend to differentiate them from Protestants and classify them as together as Independents, Non-core Protestants etc. Also included in this category are the numerous, yet very similar Nondenominational churches. Nonetheless, sources eventually combine their numbers to the Protestant tally.[18][19] Despite the absence of centralized control or leadership, if considered as a single cohort, this will easily be the second largest Christian tradition after Roman Catholicism.[203][204][205] According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC), there are an estimated 450 million Independents world-wide, as of mid-2019.[206]
Pentecostalism – 280 million
Those who are members of the Pentecostal denomination number around 280 million people.[20]
Chinese Patriotic Christian Churches - 38 million[13]
New Apostolic Church – 10 million
The New Apostolic Church has around 10 million members.[222]
Local churches - 1 to 10 million
Eastern Orthodoxy – 230 million
The best estimate of the number of Eastern Orthodox Christians is 210–230 million or 80% of all Orthodox Christians worldwide. Its main body consists of the various autocephalous churches along with the autonomous and other churches canonically linked to them, for the most part form a single communion, making the Eastern Orthodox Church the second largest single denomination behind the Catholic Church.[223][224][225][226][227] In addition, there are several Eastern Orthodox splinter groups and non-universally recognized churches.
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are those descended from those that rejected the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Despite the similar name, they are therefore a different branch of Christianity from the Eastern Orthodox (see above). There are an estimated 62 million Oriental Orthodox Christians, worldwide.[240][241][242]
A sixth group is composed by Non-trinitarian Restorationists. These groups are quite distinct from orthodox Trinitarian restorationist groups such as the Disciples of Christ, despite some shared history.
Unitarian Universalist Association – 0.2 million[267] (Unitarian Universalism developed out of Christian traditions but no longer identifies as a Christian denomination.)
Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2017"(PDF). Eastern Catholic Churches Statistics. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
Lundberg, Magnus (2015). "Modern alternative popes"(PDF). uu.diva-portal.org. Uppsala University Library. Archived(PDF) from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Center for the Study of Global Christianity. "Christianity 2017: Five Hundred Years of Protestant Christianity"(PDF). Protestants 559,258,000 Independents 437,418,000. If Independent churches are considered as offshoots of Protestantism, then the "wider" Protestants' share of global Christians is even higher. For example, Protestants and Independents together represent more than 40 percent of all Christians in 2017{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Jay Diamond, Larry. Plattner, Marc F. and Costopoulos, Philip J. World Religions and Democracy. 2005, page 119.( also in PDF file (archived from the original on 13 April 2008), p49), saying "Not only do Protestants presently constitute 13 percent of the world's population—about 800 million people—but since 1900 Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America."
Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (2015). Encyclopedia of Christian Education. Rowman & Littlefield. p.50. ISBN978-0-8108-8493-9. With a membership currently estimated at over 85 million members worldwide, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches.
"Baptist World Alliance". community.christianemergencynetwork.org. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
"Lutheran CORE Update". spiritofaliberal.com. Spirit of a Liberal. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
"Christian Movements and Denominations". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 19 December 2011. Presbyterian or Reformed 7% Congregationalist 0.5%
"United Church Statistics"(PDF). The United Church of Canada. 21 February 2018. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
"Yearbook 2016"(PDF). crcna.org. Christian Reformed Church in North America. Archived(PDF) from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2005. p.137. ISBN978-0-8028-2416-5. With half a billion adherents, Pentecostal/charismatic churches represent the second largest Christian tradition in the world today, second only to Roman Catholicism.
Miller, Donald E.; Sargeant, Kimon H.; Flory, Richard (2013). Spirit and Power: The Growth and Global Impact of Pentecostalism. OUP USA. pp.9, 297. ISBN978-0-19-992057-0. It is widely regarded as the fastest growing element of Christianity and as a consequence it is reshaping the demography of Christianity, with the majority of Christians now living in the Southern Hemisphere rather than in Europe or North America.
Gordon Melton. "African Initiated Churches". Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
"Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Oriental Orthodoxy has separate self-governing jurisdictions in Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Armenia and Syria, and it accounts for roughly 20% of the worldwide Orthodox population.
"Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has an estimated 36 million adherents, nearly 14% of the world's total Orthodox population.
"Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Egypt has the Middle East's largest Orthodox population (an estimated 4 million Egyptians, or 5% of the population), mainly members of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Harvard Divinity School, THE RELIGIOUS LITERACY PROJECT. "Coptic Christianity in Egypt". rlp.hds.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-07-08. The Coptic Church experienced a religious revival beginning in the 1950s, and currently claims some seven million members inside of Egypt.
"Catholicos of All Armenians". armenianchurch.org. Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
Fahlbusch, Erwin; Lochman, Jan Milic; Mbiti, John S.; Vischer, Lukas; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2003). The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Encyclopedia of Christianity) Volume 5. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p.285. ISBN0-8028-2417-X.