List of religious populations

These are lists of religious demographics and religions by country.

Major denominations and religions of the world

Importance of religion

Percentage of people who are not religious

World Religions

Four largest religions	Adherents	Percentage of world population	Further information
World population	6.8 billion [1][2]	Figure used by individual articles
Christianity	1.9 billion - 2.1 billion [3]	29% - 32%	Christianity by country
Islam	1.57 billion [4]	20% - 25%	Islam by country
Irreligion	1.1 - 1.5 billion [5]	16% - 20%	Irreligion by country
Hinduism	900 million - 1 billion [6][7]	14%	Hinduism by country
Buddhism	500 million [8][9][10][11]	7%	Buddhism by country
Total	4.65 billion - 6 billion	68% - 90%

An 1883 map of the world divided into colors representing "Christians, Buddhists, Hindoos, Mohammedans, Fetichists".

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	1.4 billion
Nonreligious/agnostic/atheism	1.1 billion
Hinduism	950 million
Chinese traditional religion	400 million
Buddhism	385 million
Animist religions	306 million
African Anglicanism/diasporic religions	110 million
Sikhism	23.5 million
Juche	19.4 million
Spiritism	15.2 million
Judaism	14.5 million
Baha'i	7 million
Jainism	4.2 million
Shinto	4 million
Cao Dai	4 million
Zoroastrianism	2.5 million
Tenrikyo	2 million
Neo-Paganism	1.1 million
Unitarian Universalism	800,000
Rastafari Movement	625,000

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 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.

• 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."

By proportion

Christians

Countries with the greatest proportion of Christians from Christianity by country (as of 2008):

1. Vatican City 100% (100% Roman Catholic)
2. Federated States of Micronesia ~100%
3. Samoa ~100%
4. Panama ~ 100%
5. Romania 99.5%
6. East Timor 99.2% (90% Roman Catholic)
7. Bolivia 98.3% (95% Roman Catholic)
8. Venezuela 98.2% (mostly Roman Catholic)
9. Marshall Islands 97.2%
10. Peru 97.1%
11. Paraguay 96.9% (mostly Roman Catholic)
12. Papua New Guinea 96.4%
13. Kiribati 96%
14. Angola +95%
15. Barbados +95.1%
16. Cyprus 95.3%(mostly Greek Orthodox)
17. Mexico 94.5% (mostly Roman Catholic)
18. Malta 95%
19. Colombia 94.% (mostly Roman Catholic)
20. Guatemala +90.2% (50-60% Roman Catholic and ~30% Protestant, 0-10% non-Christian)
21. Philippines +90.3% (Roman Catholic)

Muslims

Countries with the greatest proportion of Muslims from Islam by country (as of 2008):

1. Saudi Arabia 100% (90% Sunni, 10% Shi'a)
2. Afghanistan 99.9% (85% Sunni, 14% Shi'a)
3. Yemen 99.9% (65-70% Sunni, 30-35% Shi'a)
4. Mauritania 99.9% (mostly Sunni)
5. Somalia 100% (mostly Sunni)
6. Maldives 99.33% (mostly Sunni)
7. Oman 99% (mostly Ibadhi)
8. Djibouti +99% (mostly Sunni)
9. Tunisia 99% (mostly Sunni)
10. Algeria 99% (mostly Sunni)
11. Turkey 98.25% (83% Sunni, 15% Shia)
12. Bahrain 98% (50%Sunni and 50%shi'a)
13. Comoros 98% (mostly Sunni)
14. Morocco 98.4% (mostly Sunni)
15. Niger +95% (95% Sunni and Sufi)
16. Iran 98% (mostly Shi'a)
17. Pakistan 92.8% (75-80% Sunni, 20-25% Shi'a)
18. Iraq 97.8% (55% Shi'a, 45% Sunni)
19. Libya 99% (Sunni)
20. Azerbaijan 93.6% (mostly Shia)
21. Bangladesh 89.5% (mostly Sunni)

Remarks: Although Islam is the state religion of most Middle Eastern countries,this list excludes Saudi Arabia where 100% of national citizens are Muslims, because there is a substantial number of non-Muslim residents 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 population. Some other Persian Gulf countries such as 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 (included other folk religions) from Buddhism by country (as of 2008):

1. Cambodia 96% (Theravada, Muslim 3%, Christian and other 2%)
2. Thailand 94.6% (Theravada, Muslim 4%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.3%)
3. Mongolia 90% (Tibetan Buddhism, Muslim 5%, Christian and other 5%)
4. Hong Kong Triple religion 90% (10% practising) ("Triple religion", Christian and others 7%)
5. Myanmar 89% (Theravada, Christian 4%, Muslim 4%, Animism or other 2%)
6. Vietnam 85% (15% practicing)("Triple religion", Christian 7%, Cao Dai 3%, other 3%)
7. Macau 85% ("Triple religion", Christian 6%, Atheist or other 3%)
8. Laos 67%-98% (67% Theravada with 31% traditional animist.)
9. People's Republic of China 50-+80% (8% practicing) (Triple religion, Atheist 10.5%, Christian 4%, Muslim 1.5%)
10. Bhutan +66-75% (Lamaistic, Hindu 25%)
11. Christmas Island 75% (Triple religion, Christian 12%, Muslim 10%, other 3%)
12. Sri Lanka 70% (Theraveda, Hindu 15%, Christian 7.5%, Muslim 7.5%)
13. Republic of China (Taiwan) 35.1-75% ("Triple religion", Christian 4%, other 2%)
14. Singapore 33-44% ("Triple religion" 33% Buddhist, 11% Taoist)
15. Japan 20-45%(Shinto with Mahayana) (20% to 45% believe in Buddha)
16. Malaysia 23% (Muslim 60.3%, "Triple religion", Christian 9%, Hindu 6%, other 1.7%)
17. South Korea 22.8%(Mahayana with Confucianist, Christian 29%, other)
18. Brunei 15% (Muslim 67%, "Triple religion", Christian 10%, other 8%)
19. Nepal 11.4% (Hindu 80.6%, Tibetian Buddhist, Muslim 4%, other 4%)

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. 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. See Buddhism by country and Irreligion.

Hindus

Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus from Hinduism by country (as of 2008):

1. Nepal 86.5%
2. India 80.5%
3. Mauritius 54%
4. Guyana 28%
5. Fiji 27.9%
6. Bhutan 25%
7. Trinidad and Tobago 22.5%
8. Suriname 20%
9. Sri Lanka 15%
10. Bangladesh 9.2%
11. Qatar 7.2%
12. Réunion 6.7%
13. Malaysia 6.3%
14. Bahrain 6.25%
15. Kuwait 6%
16. United Arab Emirates 5%
17. Singapore 4%
18. Oman 3%
19. Belize 2.3%
20. Seychelles 2.1%

Ethnics, Methodists / Indigenous

All of the below come from the U.S Department of State 2009 International Religious Freedom Report, [12] 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. India 100%
2. Bolivia 55%
3. Laos 55%
4. Haiti 50%
5. Guinea-Bissau 50%
6. Cameroon 40%
7. Togo 33%
8. Côte d'Ivoire 25%
9. Sudan 25%
10. Benin 23%
11. Burundi 20%
12. Philippines 16%
13. Burkina Faso 15%
14. New Zealand 15%
15. South Africa 15%
16. Democratic Republic of the Congo 12%
17. Central African Republic 10%
18. Gabon 10%
19. Lesotho 10%
20. Nigeria 10%
21. Sierra Leone 10%
22. Indonesia 9%
23. Kenya 9%
24. Palau 9%
25. Ghana 8.5%
26. Guinea 5%

Jews

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

1. Israel 77.6%
2. Palestinian territories 11.5%
3. Monaco 3%
4. United States 2.8%
5. Gibraltar 2.1%
6. Cayman Islands 1.71%^{[citation needed]}
7. Netherlands Antilles^ 1.3%
8. Canada 1.1%
9. France 2%
10. Belarus 1%
11. Argentina 0.8%
12. Hungary 0.8%
13. Uruguay 0.75%
14. Russia 0.6%
15. United Kingdom 0.5%
16. Australia 0.5%
17. Netherlands 0.3%
18. Germany 0.3%
19. Georgia 0.25%

^: As of 2010, does not exist as a country.

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

Remarks: Ranked by mean estimate which is in brackets. High irreligious estimates for China and North Korea are very likely highly exaggerated.

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 59% 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. Republic of China (Taiwan) 33-80%
2. People's Republic of 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%
5. Réunion 0.1%

Mormonism

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. (go to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints page) Contents 1 Growth and demographic history 2 LDS Church membership numbers 3 Table for recent growth 4 Table for LDS Church membership numbers 5 See also 6 References

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, that one source could at least point us out to the countries that have a decent community of Spiritists

By population

Christians

Largest Christian populations (as of 2007):

1. United States 234,889,159
2. Brazil 176,356,100
3. Mexico 105,265,846
4. Russia 102,600,000
5. Philippines 91,121,400
6. Nigeria 72,068,098
7. Congo DR 59,176,360
8. Germany 56,957,500
9. Italy 51,852,284
10. Ethiopia 47,131,322
11. United Kingdom 43,515,786
12. Ukraine 42,572,167
13. Colombia 41,938,720
14. Spain 36,697,000
15. Argentina 37,883,811
16. Poland 36,977,511
17. South Africa 35,066,269
18. Kenya 28,792,702
19. France 19,089,090-32,496,275
20. People's Republic of China 21,000,000-30,000,000

Muslims

Largest Muslim populations (as of 2007):

1. Indonesia 203,867,000
2. Pakistan 174,082,000
3. India 169,745,000
4. Bangladesh 145,312,000
5. Egypt 78,513,000
6. Nigeria 78,056,000
7. Iran 73,777,000
8. Turkey 71,419,000
9. Algeria 34,199,000
10. Afghanistan 32,172,000
11. Morocco 31,993,000
12. Iraq 30,428,000
13. Sudan 30,121,000
14. Ethiopia 28,063,000
15. Uzbekistan 26,469,000
16. Saudi Arabia 24,949,000
17. Yemen 23,363,000
18. People's Republic of China 21,667,000
19. Syria 20,196,000
20. Malaysia 16,581,000

Buddhists

Largest Buddhist populations (as of 2007):

1. Thailand 61,814,742
2. Vietnam 48,473,003
3. Myanmar 42,636,562
4. Japan 25,486,699
5. Republic of China (Taiwan) 8,000,605 - 21,258,751
6. India 16,947,992
7. North Korea 466,035 - 15,029,613
8. Sri Lanka 14,648,421
9. Cambodia 13,296,109
10. South Korea 10,427,436
11. United States 2,107,980 - 10,000,000
12. Laos 4,369,739 - 6,391,558
13. Malaysia 5,460,683
14. Nepal 3,179,197
15. Singapore 1,935,029 - 2,781,888
16. Indonesia 2,346,940
17. Mongolia 2,774,679
18. Hong Kong 705,022 - 1,960,000
19. Philippines 176,932

Hindus

Largest Hindu populations (as of 2007):

1. India 800,546,800
2. Nepal 25,010,450
3. Bangladesh 15,797,076
4. Indonesia 4,693,880
5. Pakistan 3,153,787
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 6,214,569
2. Israel 5,278,274
3. France 641,000
4. Canada 360,283
5. United Kingdom 306,876
6. Russia 250,000
7. Germany 200,977
8. Argentina 184,538
9. Ukraine 149,602
10. Italy 125,000
11. Australia 94,978
12. Brazil 93,290
13. South Africa 88,994
14. Belarus 67,823
15. Hungary 60,180
16. Mexico 54,350
17. Spain 54,073
18. Belgium 52,285
19. Netherlands 32,780
20. Uruguay 30,060

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
19. UAE 51,744

"Most Baha'i Nations (2005)". QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions >. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 

Jainism

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

"Most Jainist Nations (2005)". QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions >. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_45c.asp. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 

Lists by country

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

See also

• World population
• Religion
• Irreligion
• Jewish population
• List of founders of religious traditions
• Bahá'í statistics
• Major religious groups

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