List of religious populations

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Religious demographics and Religions by country.

Contents

Four largest religions

World Religions
Four largest religions Adherents  % of World Population Wikipage
World Population 6.671 billion Figure used by individual articles
Christianity 1.637 billion - 1.923 billion 24.54% - 28.82% Christianity by country
Islam 1.450 billion - 1.514 billion 21.74% - 22.70%% Islam by country
Buddhism 489 million - 1.512 billion 7.33% - 22.67% Buddhism by country
Hinduism 965 million - 971 million 14.47% - 14.55% Hinduism by country
Total 4.541 billion - 5.920 billion 68.08% - 88.74%
Christianity - Percentage by country
Islam - Percentage by country
Buddhism - Percentage by country
Hinduism - Percentage by country

The table above is compiled from the relevant Wikipedia pages listing Religions by Country. Please note that although figures are an approximation there are many sources. Please see individual pages (Linked in Table) for details.

The numbers of adherents to organised religions in the world is difficult to accurately ascertain. Therefore figures and estimates are included from multiple sources to show the reader the problem in compiling such statistics.

Adherents.com Estimates

Adherents.com says "Sizes shown are approximate estimates, and are here mainly for the purpose of ordering the groups, not providing a definitive number."


Religion Adherents
Christianity 2.1 billion
Islam 1.5 billion
Secularism/irreligious/agnostic/atheism 1.1 billion
Hinduism 900 million
Chinese traditional religion 394 million
Buddhism 376 million
Primal-indigenous 300 million
African traditional/diasporic 100 million
Sikhism 23 million
Juche 19 million
Spiritism 15 million
Judaism 14 million
Bahá'í Faith 7 million
Jainism 4.2 million
Cao Dai 4 million
Zoroastrianism 2.6 million
Tenrikyo 2 million
Neo-Paganism 1 million
Unitarian-Universalism 800,000
Rastafarianism 600,000
Scientology 500,000

Notes

-Note that these figures may incorporate populations of secular/nominal adherents as well as syncretist worshipers, although the concept of syncretism is disputed by some.

-Note that for Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto or animism, etc...people often have religions which are a mix of belief systems. This leads to the unusually large uncertainty in the calculations for Buddhism. The lower number of approximately 400 million represents traditional Buddhists (have taken refuge in the Three Jewels, those following all of the precepts of Buddhisim laid down by the Buddha,) whereas the larger number of 1.5 billion includes "natural Buddhists" (as well as secular/nominal Buddhists), lacking specific ceremony, as long as they do not profess belief in another religion. Main article: Buddhism by country.12

By proportion

Christians

Countries with the greatest proportion of Christians from Christianity by country (as 2007):

  1.  Vatican City 100% (Roman Catholic 100%)
  2.  San Marino 99% (Roman Catholic 99%)
  3.  Romania 99% (Eastern Orthodox 86.8%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, Protestant 7.5%)3
  4.  Armenia 98.7% (mostly Orthodox)
  5.  Greece 98.3% (Orthodox 97.0%, Roman Catholic 1.0%, Muslim 1.3%, Protestant and Pentecostal 0.3%)
  6.  Moldova 98.2% (mostly Eastern Orthodox)
  7.  Malta 98% (Roman Catholic)4
  8.  Venezuela 98% (Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%)
  9.  Bolivia 97% (Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant 16%, other Christian 3%)
  10.  Paraguay 96.9% (Roman Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian 1.1%)
  11.  Bahamas 96.3% (Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other 15.2%)
  12.  Ukraine 96.1% (mostly Ukrainian Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant)
  13.  Belarus 96% (mostly Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic)
  14.  Ecuador 95% (mostly Roman Catholic)
  15.  Seychelles 94.7% (mostly Roman Catholic)
  16.  Colombia 94.5% (mostly Roman Catholic 90%)
  17.  Grenada 94% (Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% )
  18.  Costa Rica 94% (mostly Roman Catholic)
  19.  Argentina 94% (mostly Roman Catholic 92%, Protestant 2%,)
  20.  Rwanda 93.6% (Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%)

Muslims

Countries with the greatest proportion of Muslims from Islam by country (as of 2007):

  1.  Mauritania 99.9% (mostly Sunni)
  2.  Somalia 99.9% (mostly Sunni)
  3.  Western Sahara 99.8% (mostly Sunni)
  4.  Maldives 99.41% (mostly Sunni)
  5.  Afghanistan 99% (80% Sunni, 19% Shi'a)
  6.  Algeria 99% (mostly Sunni)
  7.  Turkey 99% (85% Sunni, 15% Shi'a)
  8.  Yemen 99% (65-70% Sunni, 30-35% Shi'a)
  9.  Morocco 98.7% (mostly Sunni)
  10.  Iran 98% (mostly Shi'a)
  11.  Tunisia 98% (mostly Sunni)
  12.  Comoros 98% (mostly Sunni)
  13.  Libya 97% (mostly Sunni)
  14.  Iraq 97% (60-65% Shi'a, 32-37% Sunni)
  15.  Pakistan 96% (75-80% Sunni, 20-25% Shi'a)
  16.  Jordan 95% (mostly Sunni)
  17.  Senegal 94% (mostly Sunni)
  18.  Djibouti 94% (mostly Sunni)
  19.  Azerbaijan 93.4% (75% Shi'a, 18% Sunni)
  20.  Oman 92.66% (mostly Ibadi)

Remarks: Although Islam is the state religion of most Middle Eastern countries, and in these particular countries, legal citizens must be Muslim, this list excludes Saudi Arabia where 100% of national citizens must be Muslims5, because there are large numbers of non-Muslims there (mostly Hindu and Christian; as well as Buddhist, Sikh and Jewish minorities). So the total Muslim population in Saudi Arabia is around 25 million (20 million native Saudi citizens with 1.5 million Bangladeshis, 1 million Pakistanis, 1 million Egyptians, 600,000 Indonesians, 250,000 Palestinians, and significant Muslim numbers among 1.6 million Indians, 150,000 Lebanese, as well as 100,000 Eritreans) or only about 90% of the total population6. Some other Gulf countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates are also excluded due to their large number of non-Muslim foreign immigrants.

Buddhists

Countries with the greatest proportion of Buddhists from Buddhism by country (as of 2007):

  1.  Laos 98% (mostly Theravada with traditional animist)
  2.  Bhutan 97% (mostly Lamaistic, Hindu 2%, other 1%)
  3.  Japan 96% (mostly Mahayana with Shinto, Japanese 3%, Christian 0.8%, Muslim 0.1%)
  4.  Cambodia 95% (mostly Theravada, Muslim 3%, Christian and other 2%)
  5.  Thailand 95% (Theravada, Muslim 4%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.3%)
  6.  Mongolia 94% (mostly Tibetan, Muslim 5%, Christian and other 1%)
  7.  Republic of China 93% (mostly "Triple religion", Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%)
  8.  Hong Kong 90% (mostly "Triple religion", Christian and others 10%)
  9.  Myanmar 90% (Theravada with traditional animist, Christian 4%, Muslim 4%, other)
  10.  Vietnam 85% ("Triple religion", Christian 8%, Cao Dai 3%, Atheist and other 3.5%)
  11.  Macau 85% ("Triple religion", Christian 8%, Atheist or other 7%)
  12.  People's Republic of China 80% ("Triple religion", Atheist 12.5%, Christian 4%, Muslim 1.5%)
  13.  Sri Lanka 70% (Theravada, Hindu 15%, Christian 7.9%, Muslim 7.1%)
  14.  North Korea 64.5% (Mahayana with Confucianist, Atheist 33.5%, other 2%)
  15.  Singapore 61% ("Triple religion", Muslim 14.9%, Christian 14.6%, Hindu 4%, other)
  16.  South Korea 50% (Mahayana with Confucianist, Christian 30%, other 1%)
  17.  Malaysia 22% (Muslim 60.3%, "Triple religion", Christian 9%, Hindu 6.3%, other 2.4%)
  18.  Brunei 14% (Muslim 67%, "Triple religion", Christian 10%, other 9%)
  19.  Nepal 11% (Hindu 81%, Tibetian Buddhist, Muslim 4%, other 4%)
  20.  French Polynesia 7.5% (mostly Chinese Buddhism)

Remarks: "Triple religion" (or "Chinese-Mahayana Buddhism" or "Far East Asian Buddhism") is the mixture of Mahayana Buddhism, with Taoism and Confucianism. Because officially atheist Communist governments still rule a number of traditionally Buddhist countries, and because Buddhists often practice other traditional East Asian religions, the figures could be much higher in these regions. Mahayana Buddhism in Far East Asian countries has a very wide meaning. That is why in such countries as China, Japan, Vietnam, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, the three religions of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are often all considered at once. This is referred to as a "Triple religion", with Gautama Buddha in the center, Laozi in the left, and Confucius in the right. In some regions, such as Japan, belief systems vary with differing emphasis on Shintoism, as well as Ancestor Worship. As such, the Buddhist population is difficult to gauge exactly, but is often nominal. See Buddhism by country and Irreligion for more.

Hindus

Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus from Hinduism by country (as of 2007):

  1.  Nepal 81%
  2.  India 80.5%
  3.  Mauritius 50%
  4.  Fiji 33%
  5.  Guyana 33%
  6.  Suriname 27.4%
  7.  Trinidad and Tobago 22.5%
  8.  Sri Lanka 15%
  9.  United Arab Emirates 15%7
  10.  Kuwait 12%
  11.  Bangladesh 10.5%
  12.  Qatar 7.2%
  13.  Réunion 6.7%
  14.  Malaysia 6.3%
  15.  Bahrain 6.25%
  16.  Singapore 4%
  17.  Oman 3%
  18.  Belize 2.3%
  19.  Pakistan 2.02%
  20.  Indonesia 2%;  Bhutan 2%;  Seychelles 2%

Remarks: Most of the Hindu percentage in the Middle East countries represents large numbers of foreign workers from the Indian sub-continent, although Islam is the state religion of all Middle Eastern countries and legal citizens must be Muslim. Most governments of these countries prohibit the public practice of non-Muslim religions but recognize the right of non-Muslims to worship in private.

Jews

Countries with the greatest proportion of Jews (as of 2007):

  1.  Israel 76.2% (Muslim 16.1%, Christian 2.1%)
  2.  Palestinian territories 11.09% (Muslim 83.54%, Christian 4.73%)
  3.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3% (Christian 52%, Muslim 45%)
  4.  Monaco 3% (Christian 90%)
  5.  United States 2.5% (Christian 78%, Buddhist 2%, Muslim 1%)
  6.  Gibraltar 2.1% (Christian 88.3%, Muslim 4%, Hindu 1.8%)
  7.  Cayman Islands 1.71% (Christian 77.95%)
  8.  Netherlands Antilles 1.3% (Christian 92.3%)
  9.  Canada 1.1% (Christian 77.1%, Muslim 2%, Buddhist 1.1%)
  10.  France 1% (Christian 83.3%, Muslim 10%, Buddhist 1.2%)
  11.  Belarus 1% (Christian 96%)
  12.  Argentina 0.8% (Christian 79%, Muslim 1.5%)
  13.  Hungary 0.8% (Christian 75%)
  14.  Uruguay 0.75% (Christian 65% - 68%, Atheist 30% - 34%)
  15.  Russia 0.5% (Christian 78%, Muslim 10 - 14%, Buddhist 1.1% - 1.45%)
  16.  United Kingdom 0.5% (Christian 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Buddhist 1.2%, Hindu 1%)
  17.  Australia 0.45% (Christian 63.9%, Buddhist 2.1%, Muslim 1.7%, others)
  18.  Netherlands 0.3% (Christian 29% - 51%, Atheist 41% - 50%, Muslim 5.5% - 5.8%)
  19.  Germany 0.25% (Christian 68%, Non-Religious 25.5%, Muslim 3.9%, Buddhist 1%)
  20.  Georgia 0.22% (Christian 88.6%, Muslim 9.9%, Atheist 0.7%)

Bahá'ís

Countries with the greatest proportion of Bahá'ís (as of 2000):

  1.  Nauru 9.22%
  2.  Tonga 6.09%
  3.  Tuvalu 5.86%
  4.  Kiribati 4.70%
  5.  Tokelau 4.33%
  6.  Cocos (Keeling) Islands 3.72%
  7.  Bolivia 3.25%
  8.  Falkland Islands 2.98%
  9.  Vanuatu 2.78%
  10.  Belize 2.73%
  11.  Samoa 2.37%
  12.  Guyana 2.09%
  13.  United Arab Emirates 1.95%
  14.  São Tomé and Príncipe 1.88%
  15.  Mauritius 1.84%
  16.  Zambia 1.70%
  17.  Dominica 1.61%
  18.  Micronesia 1.61%
  19.  Niue 1.53%
  20.  Marshall Islands 1.50%

Sources: Year 2000 Estimated Baha'i statistics from: David Barrett, World Christian Encyclopedia, 2000; Total population statistics, mid-2000 from Population Reference Bureau [2] and The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004.

By population

Christians

Largest Christian populations (as of 2007):

  1.  United States 234,889,159
  2.  Brazil 169,109,476
  3.  Mexico 103,265,846
  4.  Russia 98,964,426
  5.  Philippines 84,246,490
  6.  France 56,709,186
  7.  Germany 56,032,677
  8.  Nigeria 54,012,466
  9.  People's Republic of China 52,874,076
  10.  Italy 50,588,528
  11.  Ethiopia 47,131,322
  12.  Congo DR 46,026,058
  13.  United Kingdom 43,515,786
  14.  Ukraine 42,572,167
  15.  Colombia 41,938,720
  16.  Spain 38,021,300
  17.  Argentina 37,883,811
  18.  Poland 36,977,511
  19.  South Africa 35,066,269
  20.  Kenya 28,792,702

Muslims

Largest Muslim populations (as of 2007):

  1.  Indonesia 207,000,105
  2.  Pakistan 159,799,666
  3.  India 151,402,065
  4.  Bangladesh 132,446,365
  5.  Egypt 72,301,532
  6.  Turkey 70,047,060
  7.  Nigeria 67,515,582
  8.  Iran 64,089,571
  9.  Morocco 33,723,418
  10.  Algeria 32,999,884
  11.  Afghanistan 31,571,023
  12.  Sudan 27,565,551
  13.  Iraq 26,674,649
  14.  Ethiopia 25,095,899
  15.  Saudi Arabia 24,564,924
  16.  Uzbekistan 24,446,452
  17.  Yemen 22,008,225
  18.  China 19,827,778
  19.  Russia 19,792,885
  20.  Syria 17,383,272

Buddhists

Largest Buddhist populations (as of 2007):

  1.  People's Republic of China 1,057,481,510
  2.  Japan 122,336,154
  3.  Vietnam 72,473,003
  4.  Thailand 61,814,742
  5.  Myanmar 42,636,562
  6.  South Korea 24,522,395
  7.  Republic of China 21,258,751
  8.  India 16,947,992
  9.  North Korea 15,029,613
  10.  Sri Lanka 14,648,421
  11.  Cambodia 13,296,109
  12.  Laos 6,391,558
  13.  Hong Kong 6,282,371
  14.  United States 6,022,799
  15.  Malaysia 5,460,683
  16.  Nepal 3,179,197
  17.  Singapore 2,781,888
  18.  Mongolia 2,774,679
  19.  Indonesia 2,346,940
  20.  Philippines 2,276,932

Hindus

Largest Hindu populations (as of 2007):

  1.  India 909,542,254
  2.  Nepal 23,410,450
  3.  Bangladesh 15,797,076
  4.  Indonesia 4,693,880
  5.  Pakistan 3,327,787
  6.  Sri Lanka 3,138,947
  7.  Malaysia 1,563,741
  8.  United States 1,204,560
  9.  United Arab Emirates 944,352
  10.  Mauritius 625,441
  11.  United Kingdom 607,762
  12.  South Africa 549,973
  13.  Kenya 369,137
  14.  Tanzania 354,458
  15.  Canada 333,901
  16.  Fiji 303,163
  17.  Kuwait 300,667
  18.  Guyana 253,801
  19.  Trinidad and Tobago 237,737
  20.  Singapore 262,120

Jews

Largest Jewish populations (as of 2007):

  1.  United States 6,214,247
  2.  Israel 5,278,274
  3.  Russia 753,382
  4.  France 636,303
  5.  Canada 414,283
  6.  United Kingdom 306,876
  7.  Germany 210,977
  8.  Argentina 202,538
  9.  Ukraine 149,602
  10.  Australia 94,978
  11.  Brazil 93,290
  12.  South Africa 88,994
  13.  Belarus 67,823
  14.  Hungary 60,180
  15.  Mexico 54,350
  16.  Spain 54,073
  17.  Belgium 52,285
  18.  Netherlands 32,780
  19.  Italy 30,728
  20.  Uruguay 30,060

Bahá'ís

Largest Bahá'í populations (as of 2005):

  1.  India 1,716,148
  2.  United States 753,423
  3.  Iran 463,151
  4.  Vietnam 356,133
  5.  Kenya 308,292
  6.  Bolivia 269,246
  7.  South Africa 255,775
  8.  Philippines 229,522
  9.  Congo DR 224,596
  10.  Zambia 162,443
  11.  Thailand 144,243
  12.  Venezuela 141,072
  13.  Tanzania 140,593
  14.  Malaysia 97,078
  15.  Chad 80,683
  16.  Myanmar 79,044
  17.  Pakistan 78,658
  18.  Uganda 66,546
  19.  Colombia 64,758
  20.  Cameroon 64,286

Source: Year 2000 Estimated Baha'i statistics from: David Barrett, World Christian Encyclopedia, 2000; Total population statistics, mid-2000 from Population Reference Bureau [3]

Lists by country

See also

References

  1. ^ Vipassana Foundation - Buddhists around the world
  2. ^ "Counting the Buddhist World Fairly," by Dr. Alex Smith
  3. ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Field Listing - Religions
  4. ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Malta
  5. ^ CIA - The World factbook -- Saudi Arabia
  6. ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2008 - Saudi Arabia
  7. ^ [1]

Sources