List of religious populations

Main category: Religious demographics

Sources outside of Wikipedia give differing estimates:

• The CIA's World Factbook gives the world population as 7,021,836,029 (July 2012 est.) and the distribution of religions as Christian 33.39% (of which Roman Catholic 18.85%, Protestant 8.15%, Orthodox 4.96%, Anglican 1.26%), Muslim 22.74%, Hindu 13.8%, Buddhist 6.77%, Sikh 0.35%, Jewish 0.22%, Baha'i 0.11%, other religions 10.95%, non-religious 9.66%, atheists 2.01%. (2010 est.).

Adherent estimates

Size of Major Religious Groups, 2010
Religion			Percent
Christians			31.5%
Hindu			15%
Unaffiliated			16.3%
Muslims			23.2%
Buddhist (practicing)			7.1%
Folk			5.9%
Other			0.8%
Jewish			0.2%
Pew Research Center, 2012

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	70092100000000000002.1 billion
Buddhism*	7008376000000000000376 million–70091200000000000001.2 billion
Islam	70091500000000000001.5 billion
Secular*/Nonreligious*/Agnostic/Atheist	≤ 70091100000000000001.1 billion
Hinduism	70091800000000000001.8 billion
Chinese traditional religion*	7008394000000000000394 million
Primal-Indigenous religions	7008300000000000000300 million
African Traditional & Diasporic religions	7008100000000000000100 million
Sikhism	700728000000000000028 million
Juche*	700719000000000000019 million
Spiritism	700715000000000000015 million
Judaism	700714000000000000014 million
Baha'i	70067000000000000007 million
Jainism	70064200000000000004.2 million
Shinto	70064000000000000004 million
Cao Dai	70064000000000000004 million
Zoroastrianism	70062600000000000002.6 million
Tenrikyo	70062000000000000002 million
Neo-Paganism	70061000000000000001 million
Unitarian Universalism	7005800000000000000800,000
Rastafarianism	7005600000000000000600,000

Notes

• These figures may incorporate populations of secular/nominal adherents as well as syncretist worshipers, although the concept of syncretism is disputed by some.

• Nonreligious includes agnostic, atheist, secular humanist, and people answering 'none' or no religious preference. Half of this group is theistic but nonreligious.

• 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 smaller 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 1.7 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.

• It is hard to accurately report the actual number of adherents of Judaism as there are Jews that do not practice the religion that may be under the secular/irreligious category even though they are fully Jewish.

• Chinese traditional religion is described as "the common religion of the majority Chinese culture: a combination of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, as well as the traditional non-scriptural/local practices and beliefs."

• Juche is not generally considered a religion, as it is a political belief system; some sources call it a 'political religion'.

By proportion

Christians

Countries with the greatest proportion of Christians from Christianity by country (as of 2010):

Christianity – Percentage by country

1. Vatican City 100%
2. Pitcairn Islands 100% (100% Seventh-day Adventist)
3. Samoa ~99%
4. Romania 99%
5. American Samoa 98.3%
6. Malta 98.1% (mostly Roman Catholic)
7. Venezuela 98% (96% Roman Catholic)
8. Greece 98% (95% Greek Orthodox)
9. Marshall Islands 97.2%
10. Tonga 97.2%
11. Armenia 97% (94% Armenian Apostolic)
12. Bolivia 97% (mostly Roman Catholic)
13. San Marino 97% (~97% Roman Catholic)
14. Paraguay 96.9% (mostly Roman Catholic)
15. Papua New Guinea 96.4%
16. Kiribati 96%
17. Federated States of Micronesia ~96%
18. Barbados 95.1%
19. East Timor 94.2%
20. Peru 93.8% (mostly Roman Catholic)

Muslims

Countries with the greatest proportion of Muslims from Islam by country (as of 2010) (figures excluding foreign workers in parenthesis):

Islam – Percentage by country

1. Mauritania 99.9% (mostly Sunni)
2. Maldives 99.4% (mostly Sunni)
3. Yemen 99.1% (99.9%) (65–70% Sunni, 30–35% Shi'a)
4. Somalia 99% (Sunni)
5. Afghanistan ~99% (mostly Sunni, 20% Shi'a)
6. Morocco 98.7% (mostly Sunni)
7. Algeria 98.3% (mostly Sunni)
8. Iran 98% (mostly Shi'a)
9. Tunisia 98% (mostly Sunni)
10. Comoros 98% (mostly Sunni)
11. Saudi Arabia 97% (100%) (85–90% Sunni, 10–15% Shi'a)
12. Sudan 97% (mostly Sunni)
13. Libya 96.6% (99%) (Sunni)
14. Pakistan 96.4% (75–80% Sunni, 20–25% Shi'a)
15. Iraq 95% (60–65% Shi'a, 33–40% Sunni)
16. Turkey 95% (83% Sunni, 15% Shi'a)
17. Djibouti 94% (mostly Sunni)
18. Niger 93% (mostly Sunni)
19. Egypt 90% (Sunni)
20. Bangladesh 89.4% (Sunni, 9.2% Hindu, 0.7% Buddhist)

Remarks: Because officially Muslim governments that often forcibly suppress other religious beliefs rule a number of traditionally Islamic countries, the figures for these other religious groups could be higher than reported in those nations. See Freedom of religion by country and Apostasy in Islam.

Buddhists

Countries with the greatest proportion of Buddhists (included other folk religions) from Buddhism by country (as of 2011):

Buddhism – Percentage by country

1. Laos 67%–98% (67% Theravada with 31% traditional animist.)
2. Cambodia 96.4% (Theravada, Muslim 3%, Christian and other 2%)
3. Japan 45%–96% (Shinto with Mahayana) (20% to 45% practicing)
4. Thailand 94.6% (Theravada, Muslim 4%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.3%)
5. Mongolia 94% (53% practicing) (Tibetan Buddhism, Muslim 3%, Christian and other 3%)
6. Taiwan 35.1%–93% (35.1% practicing) ("Triple religion", Christian 4%, other 2%)
7. Macau 92.3%("Triple religion", Christian 6%, Atheist or other ~3%)
8. Hong Kong 92% (10% practicing) ("Triple religion", Christian and others 8%)
9. China 50–80–91% (8% practicing) (Triple religion, Atheist <5%, Christian 4%, Muslim 1.5%)
10. Myanmar 89% (Theravada, Christian 4%, Muslim 4%, Animism or other 2%)
11. Vietnam 85% (7.9% practicing)("Triple religion", Christian 8%, Cao Dai 3%, other 4%)
12. North Korea 4.5%–76% (4.5% practicing or legally recognized, 25% with additional background of Korean Shamanism) (Mahayana with Confucianist, officially Atheist/Juche, Christian 2%)
13. Bhutan 76% (Lamaistic, Hindu ~25%)
14. Christmas Island 75% (Triple religion, Christian 12%, Muslim 10%, other 3%)
15. Sri Lanka 70.19% (Theraveda, Hindu 12.61%, Muslim 9.71%, Christian 7.45%, Other 0.05%)
16. South Korea 22.8%–70% (22.8% practicing) (Mahayana with Confucianist, Christian 29%, Shamanism, other)
17. Singapore 33–65% (33% practicing, 44% practicing with Taoism) ("Triple religion", Christian 18%, Islam 14.7%, others)
18. Malaysia 23% (Muslim 60.3%, "Triple religion", Christian 9%, Hindu 6%, other 1.7%)
19. Brunei 15% (Muslim 67%, "Triple religion", Christian 10%, other 8%)
20. Nauru 11% (Christian 78%, Triple religion, Baha'i 9%, other 2%)

Remarks: "Triple religion" (or "Chinese-Mahayana Buddhism" or "Far East Asian Buddhism") is the mixture of Mahayana Buddhism, with Taoism and Confucianism. Because officially Communist governments that often forcibly suppressed religious expressions 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. Additionally, as Buddhism has harmonized with many Asian cultures, it is often regarded as a cultural background or philosophy rather than a formal religion. As such, the Buddhist population is difficult to gauge exactly, but is often nominal. The lesser percentage given is a number of Buddhists who have taken the formal step of going for refuge. And the wider percentage given are informal/nominal adherents of combined Buddhism with its related religions and those who subscribe to Buddhism and its philosophies in principle but stop short of any ceremonial or formal practice. See Buddhism by country and Irreligion.

Hindus

Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus from Hinduism by country (as of 2010):

Hinduism – Percentage by country

1. Nepal 80.6%
2. India 80.5%
3. Mauritius 54%
4. Fiji 33.7%
5. Guyana 28%
6. Bhutan 25%
7. Suriname 20%
8. Trinidad and Tobago 18.2%
9. United Arab Emirates 15%
10. Sri Lanka 12.6%
11. Kuwait 12%
12. Bangladesh 9.6%
13. Bahrain 8.1%
14. Réunion 6.7%
15. Malaysia 6.3%
16. Pakistan 5.7%
17. Singapore 5.1%
18. Oman 3%
19. Seychelles 2.1%
20. Indonesia 1.69%

Indigenous

All of the below come from the U.S Department of State 2009 International Religious Freedom Report, [39] based on the highest estimate of people identified as indigenous or followers of indigenous religions that have been well-defined. Due to the syncretic nature of these religions, the following numbers may not reflect the actual number of practitioners.

1. Bolivia 55%
2. Haiti 50%
3. Guinea-Bissau 50%
4. Cameroon 40%
5. Togo 33%
6. Côte d'Ivoire 25%
7. Sudan 25%
8. Benin 23%
9. Burundi 20%
10. Philippines 16%
11. Burkina Faso 15%
12. New Zealand 15%
13. South Africa 15%
14. Democratic Republic of the Congo 12%
15. Central African Republic 10%
16. Gabon 10%
17. Lesotho 10%
18. Nigeria 10%
19. Sierra Leone 10%
20. Indonesia 9%
21. Kenya 9%
22. Palau 9%
23. Ghana 8.5%
24. Guinea 5%

Judaism

Countries with the greatest proportion of Jews (as of 2010):

1. Israel 75.4%
2. Palestine 17%
3. Monaco 2.9%
4. United States 2.1%
5. Gibraltar 2.1%
6. Cayman Islands 1.71%
7. Netherlands Antilles^ 1.3%
8. Canada 1.1%
9. France 0.75%
10. Argentina 0.62%
11. Uruguay 0.5%
12. Australia 0.5%
13. Hungary 0.45%
14. U.S. Virgin Islands 0.45%
15. Latvia 0.3%
16. Germany 0.25%
17. Netherlands 0.2%
18. New Zealand 0.17%
19. Ukraine 0.16%
20. Russia 0.09%

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. São Tomé and Príncipe 1.88%
14. Mauritius 1.84%
15. Zambia 1.70%
16. Dominica 1.61%
17. Federated States of Micronesia 1.61%
18. Niue 1.53%
19. 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 [40] and The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004.

Irreligious & Atheist

See also: Irreligion by country

Countries with the greatest proportion of people without religion (including Agnostics and Atheists) from Irreligion by country (as of 2007):

1. Japan 64–88% (76%)
2. Sweden 46–85% (65.5%)
3. Vietnam 44%–81% (62.5%)
4. Denmark 43–80% (61.5%)
5. Macau 60.9%
6. Czech Republic 54–61% (57.5%)
7. Hong Kong 57%
8. France 43–64% (53.5%)
9. Norway 31–72% (51.5%)
10. Estonia 49%
11. Netherlands 39–55% (47%)
12. Finland 28–60% (44%)
13. United Kingdom 31–52% (41.5%) (25% England and Wales)
14. South Korea 30–52% (41%)
15. Germany 25-55% (40%)
16. Hungary 32–46% (39%)
17. Belgium 42–43% (38.75%)
18. New Zealand 34.7%
19. Bulgaria 34–40% (37%)
20. Slovenia 35–38% (36.5%)
21. Russia 13–48% (30.5%)

Remarks: Ranked by mean estimate which is in brackets. Irreligious includes agnostic, atheist, secular believer, and people having no formal religious adherence. It does not necessarily mean that members of this group don′t belong to any religion. Some religions have harmonized with local cultures and can be seen as a cultural background rather than a formal religion. Additionally, the practice of officially associating a family or household with a religious institute while not formally practicing the affiliated religion is common in many countries. Thus, over half of this group is theistic and/or influenced by religious principles, but nonreligious/non-practicing and not true atheists or agnostics. See Spiritual but not religious.

Sikhism

Countries with the greatest proportion of Sikhs:

1. India 2.3%
2. United Kingdom 1.2%
3. Canada 0.9%
4. Malaysia 0.5%
5. Fiji 0.3%
6. Singapore 0.3%
7. United States 0.2%
8. New Zealand 0.2%
9. Australia 0.1%
10. Italy 0.1%

The Sikh homeland is the Punjab state, in India, where today Sikhs make up approximately 61% of the population. This is the only place where Sikhs are in the majority. Sikhs have emigrated to countries all over the world – especially to English-speaking and East Asian nations. In doing so they have retained, to an unusually high degree, their distinctive cultural and religious identity. Sikhs are not ubiquitous worldwide in the way that adherents of larger world religions are, and they remain primarily an ethnic religion. But they can be found in many international cities and have become an especially strong religious presence in the United Kingdom and Canada.

Taoists/Confucianists/Chinese traditional religionists

As a spiritual practice, Taoism has made fewer inroads in the West than Buddhism and Hinduism. Despite the popularity of its great classics the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching, the specific practices of Taoism have not been promulgated in America with much success; these religions are not ubiquitous worldwide in the way that adherents of larger world religions are, and they remain primarily an ethnic religion. Nonetheless, Taoist ideas and symbols such as Taijitu have become popular throughout the world through Tai Chi Chuan, Qigong, and various martial arts.

1. Taiwan 33–80%
2. China 30%
3. Hong Kong 28%
4. Macau 13.9%
5. Singapore 8.5%
6. Malaysia 2.6%
7. South Korea 0.2-1%
8. Vietnam
9. Philippines 0.01–0.05%

The Chinese traditional religion has 184,000 believers in Latin America, 250,000 believers in Europe, and 839,000 believers in North America as of 1998.

Jainism

1. India 0.5%
2. Suriname 0.3%
3. Fiji 0.2%
4. Kenya 0.2%

Mormonism

See also: Latter Day Saint movement and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Deseret Morning News' LDS Church Almanac gives information on historical membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church's reported membership was roughly 13,824,000 at the start of 2010.

Spiritism

1. Cuba 10.30%
2. Jamaica 10.2%
3. Brazil 4.8%
4. Suriname 3.6%
5. Haiti 2.7%
6. Dominican Republic 2.2%
7. The Bahamas 1.9%
8. Nicaragua 1.5%
9. Trinidad and Tobago 1.4%
10. Guyana 1.3%
11. Venezuela 1.1%
12. Colombia 1.0%
13. Belize 1.0%
14. Honduras 0.9%
15. Puerto Rico 0.7%
16. Panama 0.5%
17. Iceland 0.5%
18. Guadeloupe 0.4%
19. Argentina 0.2%
20. Guatemala 0.2%

Source: http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_50.asp

Note that all these estimates come from a single source. However, this source gives a relative indication of the size of the Spiritist communities within each country.

By population

Christians

Largest Christian populations (as of 2011):

1. United States 229,157,250
2. Brazil 169,213,130
3. Mexico 106,204,560
4. Philippines 86,790,000
5. Nigeria 80,510,000
6. Russia 67,640,000
7. China 67,070,000
8. Democratic Republic of the Congo 63,150,000
9. France 55,948,600
10. Ethiopia 51,477,950
11. Germany 50,752,580
12. Italy 46,832,000
13. Argentina 33,497,100
14. Kenya 33,625,790

Muslims

Largest Muslim populations (as of 2013):

1. Indonesia 206,986,560
2. Pakistan 180,608,292
3. India 189,945,000
4. Bangladesh 132,937,800
5. Nigeria 75,726,194
6. Iran 73,238,340
7. Egypt 70,056,000
8. Turkey 70,036,838
9. Algeria 36,092,810
10. Morocco 31,351,800
11. Afghanistan 30,112,680
12. Sudan 30,064,180
13. Iraq 29,767,300
14. Ethiopia 28,120,050
15. Saudi Arabia 26,624,560
16. Uzbekistan 25,628,240
17. Yemen 23,836,523
18. China 20,095,870
19. Syria 19,601,750
20. Malaysia 17,085,402

Buddhists

Largest Buddhist populations (as of 2010):

1. China 669,862,420–1,219,149,600
2. Japan 122,933,785
3. Vietnam 74,664,000
4. Thailand 61,943,563
5. Myanmar 53,649,200
6. India ~35,000,000
7. South Korea 34,587,250 (11,265,560 practicing)
8. Taiwan 21,540,660
9. North Korea 18,279,770 (1,082,350 legally recognized)
10. Cambodia 14,414,370
11. Sri Lanka 14,232,846
12. United States 12,337,800 (2,107,980 practicing)
13. Malaysia 6,516,850
14. Hong Kong 6,496,300
15. Laos 6,370,000
16. Singapore 3,453,060 (1,753,092 practicing)
17. Nepal 3,179,353
18. Mongolia 2,989,200
19. Philippines 2,770,135
20. Russia 2,000,000

Hindus

Largest Hindu populations (as of 2010):

1. India 957,636,314
2. Nepal 21,354,570
3. Bangladesh 14,274,430
4. Indonesia 4,012,470
5. Pakistan 2,603,895
6. Sri Lanka 2,554,606
7. Malaysia 1,700,100
8. United States 1,543,730
9. United Arab Emirates 1,239,610
10. South Africa 749,870
11. Mauritius 665,820
12. United Kingdom 630,000
13. Tanzania 403,570
14. Canada 333,901
15. Kuwait 328,440
16. Singapore 264,370
17. Fiji 261,097
18. Trinidad and Tobago 240,100
19. Myanmar 203,000
20. Bhutan 177,100

Jews

Largest Jewish populations (as of 2011):

1. United States 6,588,065
2. Israel 5,907,500
3. France 493,600
4. Canada 375,000
5. United Kingdom 291,000
6. Russia 194,000
7. Argentina 181,800
8. Germany 119,000
9. Australia 97,300
10. Brazil 95,300
11. Ukraine 70,200
12. South Africa 67,000
13. Hungary 48,200
14. Mexico 39,200
15. Belgium 30,000
16. Italy 28,200
17. Chile 18,500
18. Turkey 17,400
19. Uruguay 17,300
20. Belarus 12,000

Sikhs

Largest Sikh populations

1. India 25,292,600
2. UK 530,000
3. USA 500,000
4. Canada 320,200
5. Malaysia 120,000
6. Bangladesh 100,000
7. Italy 70,000
8. Thailand 70,000
9. Myanmar 70,000
10. United Arab Emirates 50,000
11. Germany 40,000
12. Mauritius 37,700
13. Australia 30,000
14. Pakistan 21,150
15. Kenya 20,000
16. Kuwait 20,000
17. Philippines 20,000
18. New Zealand 17,400
19. Indonesia 15,000
20. Singapore 14,500

Bahá'ís

Largest Bahá'í populations (as of 2005):

1. India 1,823,631
2. United States 456,767
3. Kenya 368,095
4. Congo DR 252,159
5. Philippines 247,499
6. Zambia 224,763
7. South Africa 213,651
8. Iran 212,272
9. Bolivia 206,029
10. Tanzania 163,772
11. Venezuela 155,907
12. Chad 84,276
13. Pakistan 79,461
14. Myanmar 78,967
15. Uganda 78,541
16. Malaysia 71,203
17. Colombia 68,441
18. Thailand 58,208

Jainism

As of 2005:

1. India 5,146,696
2. United States 79,459
3. Kenya 68,848
4. United Kingdom 16,869
5. Canada 12,101
6. Tanzania 9,002
7. Nepal 6,800
8. Uganda 2,663
9. Burma 2,398
10. Malaysia 2,052
11. South Africa 1,918
12. Fiji 1,573
13. Japan 1,535
14. Australia 1,449
15. Suriname 1,217
16. Réunion 981
17. Belgium 815
18. Yemen 229

Lists by country

• Religions by country
• Bahá'í Faith by country
• Buddhism by country
• Christianity by country
  • Roman Catholicism by country
  • Protestantism by country
  • Orthodoxy by country
• Hinduism by country
• Islam by country
• Judaism by country
• Sikhism by country

See also

• List of founders of religious traditions
• Major religious groups
• World population

External links

• adherents.com
• Asian-Nation: Religious Affiliation among Asian Americans
• International Religious Freedom Report 2007 of U.S. Department of State
• Background Notes of U.S. Department of State
• The World Factbook of CIA
• Adherents.com
• Religious Freedom page
• Religious Intelligence
• World Statesmen
• BBC News – Muslims in Europe: Country guide
• Vipassana Foundation – Buddhists around the world
• Hierarchy – Statistics of Catholic population by country
• Irreligion