List of religious populations
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Big 4 Religions | Adherents | % of World Population | Wikipage |
---|---|---|---|
Christianity | 1.687 billion - 2 billion | 25.29% - 30% | Christianity by country |
Buddhism | 690 million - 1.514 billion | 10.35% - 22.70% | Buddhism by country |
Islam | 1.450 billion - 1.505 billion | 21.73% - 22.56% | Islam by country |
Hinduism | 965 million - 971 million | 14.47% - 14.55% | Hinduism by country |
Total | 4.792 billion - 5.991 billion | 71.84% - 89.81% |
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.
Contents |
[edit] 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 |
Secular/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 |
Baha'i | 7 million |
Jainism | 4.2 million |
Shinto | 4 million |
Cao Dai | 4 million |
Zoroastrianism | 2.6 million |
Tenrikyo | 2 million |
Neo-Paganism | 1 million |
Unitarian-Universalism | 800 thousand |
Rastafarianism | 600 thousand |
Scientology | 500 thousand |
[edit] 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 and folk religions or animism; people often have religions comprised of a mix of belief systems.See more detail below explain for why the Buddhist population is very high with about 1.5 billion recently.Because only nearly 400 million in total real Buddhist population have taken refuge in the Buddha, in the dharma and in the sangha; and plus with over 1.1 billion people who are natural Buddhist without any ceremonies of the professions of faith nor a profession of belief as in Islam or Christianity or Judaism. Especially in Mahayana Buddhism and in Far East Asia!(Source:[1]).
[edit] By proportion
[edit] Christians
Countries with the greatest proportion of Christians from Christianity by country (as 2007):
- Vatican City 100% (Roman Catholic 100%)
- San Marino 99% (Roman Catholic 99%)
- Armenia 98.7% (mostly Orthodox)
- Moldova 98.2% (mostly Eastern Orthodox)
- Greece 98% (Orthodox 97.0%, Roman Catholic 1.0%, Muslim 1.3%)
- Venezuela 98% (Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%)
- Bolivia 97% (Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant 16%, other Christian 3%)
- Paraguay 96.9% (Roman Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian 1.1%)
- 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%)
- Ecuador 95% (mostly Roman Catholic)
- Seychelles 94.7% (mostly Roman Catholic)
- Colombia 94.5% (mostly Roman Catholic 90%)
- Grenada 94% (Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% )
- Costa Rica 94% (mostly Roman Catholic)
- Argentina 94% (mostly Roman Catholic 92%-less than 20% practicing, Protestant 2%,)
- Rwanda 93.6% (Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%)
- Puerto Rico 93% (mostly Roman Catholic)
- East Timor 93% (mostly Roman Catholic)
- Philippines 92.5% (Roman Catholic 80.9%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%; Muslim 5%)
- Chile 91% (Roman Catholic 70%, Evangelical 15.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.1%, other 1%)
[edit] Buddhists
Countries with the greatest proportion of Buddhists from Buddhism by country (as of 2007):
- Bhutan 97% (mostly Lamaistic, Hindu 2%, other 1%)
- Japan 96% (mostly Mahayana with Shintoist, other 3%, Christian 0.8%, Muslim 0.1%)
- Laos 96% (mostly Theravada with traditional animist)
- Cambodia 95% (mostly Theravada, Muslim 3%, Christian and other 2%)
- Thailand 95% (Theravada, Muslim 4%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.3%)
- Mongolia 94% (mostly Tibetan, Muslim 5%, Christian and other 1%)
- Taiwan 93.5% (mostly "Triple religion", Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%)
- Hong Kong 90% (mostly "Triple religion", Christian and others 10%)
- Myanmar 90% (Theravada with traditional animist, Christian 4%, Muslim 4%, other)
- Vietnam 85% ("Triple religion", Christian 8%, Cao Dai 3%, Communist and other 3.5%)
- Macau 85% ("Triple religion", Christian 8%, Atheist or other 7%)
- China, 80% ("Triple religion", Communist/Atheist 11.5%, Christian 6%, Muslim 1.5%)
- Sri Lanka 70% (Theravada, Hindu 15%, Christian 7.9%, Muslim 7.1%)
- North Korea 64.5% (Mahayana with Confucianist, Communist/Atheist 33.5%, other 2%)
- Singapore 61% ("Triple religion", Muslim 14.9%, Christian 14.6%, Hindu 4%, other)
- South Korea 50% (Mahayana with Confucianist, Christian 49%, other 1%)
- Malaysia 22% (Muslim 60.3%, "Triple religion", Christian 9%, Hindu 6.3%, other 2.4%)
- Brunei 14% (Muslim 67%, "Triple religion", Christian 10%, other 9%)
- Nepal 11% (Hindu 81%, Tibetian Buddhist, Muslim 4%, other 4%)
- Qatar 5%; United Arab Emirates 5%
"Triple religion" (or we can also call it as "Chinese-Mahayana Buddhism" or "Far East Asian Buddhism") is the mixture of Mahayana Buddhism mainly (relax treatments for human spirit, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, religious ceremonies as some important parts of life and funerals, Buddhist tenets for the better life with humanities,charities and merciful activities,etc...) with Taoism (God,Goddess,superstitious practices,supernatural,some common Buddhist-Taoist festivals in Chinese lunar calendar as Chinese New Year,Ghost Festival,Double Ninth Festival,etc...) and Confucianism (it is not a really religion but it is the traditional East Asian philosophy that has been influenced in almost Far East Asian countries about nation,society,family,moral value,etc...). These are equal value in traditional culture,society,etc...in any Far East Asian countries!Buddhism could combine with many religions as Taoism or Confucianism or Shinto or any traditional animism but an example, Taoism couldn't mix with Shinto or Confucianism couldn't mix with animism. See the article of Buddhism by country for more details!The relationships between Mahayana Buddhism with Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto and especially Ancestor Worship are as steadfast and deep as arms and legs.
[edit] Muslims
Countries with the greatest proportion of Muslims from Islam by country (as of 2007):
- Mauritania 99.9%
- Somalia 99.9%
- Western Sahara 99.8%
- Maldives 99.41%
- Afghanistan 99%
- Algeria 99%
- Yemen 99%
- Morocco 98.7%
- Iran 98%
- Tunisia 98%
- Comoros 98%
- Pakistan 97%
- Libya 97%
- Iraq 97%
- Jordan 95%
- Turkey 94%
- Senegal 94%
- Djibouti 94%
- Azerbaijan 93.4%
- Saudi Arabia 92.8%
[edit] Hindus
Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus from Hinduism by country (as of 2007):
- Nepal 81%
- India 80.5%
- Mauritius 50%
- Fiji 33%
- Guyana 33%
- Suriname 27.4%
- Trinidad and Tobago 22.5%
- United Arab Emirates 21.25%
- Sri Lanka 15%
- Kuwait 12%
- Bangladesh 10.5%
- Qatar 7.2%
- Réunion 6.7%
- Malaysia 6.3%
- Bahrain 6.25%
- Singapore 4%
- Oman 3%
- Belize 2.3%
- Pakistan 2.02%
- Indonesia 2%; Bhutan 2%; Seychelles 2%
[edit] Jews
Countries with the greatest proportion of Jews (as of 2007):
- Israel 76.2% (Muslim 16.1%, Christian 2.1%)
- United States 2.5% (Christian 78%, Buddhist 2%, Muslim 1%)
[edit] Bahá'ís
Countries with the greatest proportion of Bahá'ís (as of 2000):
- Nauru 9.22%
- Tonga 6.09%
- Tuvalu 5.86%
- Kiribati 4.70%
- Tokelau 4.33%
- Cocos Islands 3.72%
- Bolivia 3.25%
- Falkland Islands 2.98%
- Vanuatu 2.78%
- Belize 2.73%
- Samoa 2.37%
- Guyana 2.09%
- United Arab Emirates 1.95%
- Sao Tome and Principe 1.88%
- Mauritius 1.84%
- Zambia 1.70%
- Dominica 1.61%
- Micronesia 1.61%
- Niue 1.53%
- 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.
[edit] By population
[edit] Christians
Largest Christian populations (as of 2007):
- United States 234,889,159
- Brazil 169,109,476
- Mexico 103,265,846
- Russia 98,964,426
- Philippines 84,246,490
- China 75,345,558
- France 56,709,186
- Germany 56,032,677
- Nigeria 54,012,466
- Italy 50,588,528
- Ethiopia 47,131,322
- D.R. Congo 46,026,058
- United Kingdom 43,515,786
- Colombia 41,938,720
- Ukraine 41,669,876
- Spain 38,021,300
- Argentina 37,883,811
- Poland 36,977,511
- South Africa 35,066,269
- Kenya 28,792,702
[edit] Buddhists
Largest Buddhist populations (as of 2007):
- China 1,057,481,510
- Japan 122,336,154
- Vietnam 72,473,003
- Thailand 61,814,742
- Myanmar 42,636,562
- South Korea 24,522,395
- Taiwan 21,258,751
- India 16,947,992
- North Korea 15,029,613
- Sri Lanka 14,648,421
- Cambodia 13,296,109
- Hong Kong 6,282,371
- Laos 6,261,118
- United States 6,022,799
- Malaysia 5,460,683
- Indonesia 5,397,962
- Nepal 3,179,197
- Singapore 2,781,888
- Mongolia 2,774,679
- Philippines 2,276,932
Remarks:
1) Because officially atheist Communist governments still rule a number of traditionally Buddhist countries and also because Buddhists often also practice other traditional East Asian religions, the figures could also be much higher. Mahayana Buddhism in Far East Asian countries is very wide of meanings; that is why in such countries as China, Japan, Vietnam, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore; Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism all in one and it called "Triple religion" with Great Buddha in the central of Laozi in the left and Confucius in the right. Or in Japan, Shinto and Buddhism is also like that. In those Far East Asian countries,in almost Buddhist families, they also worship their dead parents, ancestors, national heroes, historical people, v.v...and in the end of all those prayers are "Namo Amitabha Buddha" (it means:"Glory to Buddha Amitabha"). Such was making the Buddhist population (Mahayana Buddhism exactly) is very high and it could be the 2nd largest religion certainly.
[edit] Muslims
Largest Muslim populations (as of 2007):
- Indonesia 207,000,105
- Pakistan 159,799,666
- India 151,402,065
- Bangladesh 132,446,365
- Egypt 72,301,532
- Turkey 70,047,060
- Nigeria 67,515,582
- Iran 64,089,571
- Morocco 33,723,418
- Algeria 32,999,884
- Afghanistan 31,571,023
- Saudi Arabia 27,601,038
- Sudan 27,565,551
- Iraq 26,674,649
- Ethiopia 25,095,899
- Uzbekistan 24,446,452
- Yemen 22,008,225
- China 19,827,778
- Russia 19,792,885
- Tanzania 17,722,900
[edit] Hindus
Largest Hindu populations (as of 2007):
- India 909,542,254
- Nepal 23,410,450
- Bangladesh 15,797,076
- Indonesia 4,693,880
- Pakistan 3,327,787
- Sri Lanka 3,138,947
- Malaysia 1,563,741
- United States 1,204,560
- United Arab Emirates 944,352
- Mauritius 625,441
- United Kingdom 607,762
- South Africa 549,973
- Kenya 369,137
- Tanzania 354,458
- Canada 333,901
- Fiji 303,163
- Kuwait 300,667
- Guyana 253,801
- Trinidad and Tobago 237,737
- Singapore 262,120
[edit] Jews
Largest Jewish populations (as of 2007):
- United States 6,214,247
- Israel 5,278,274
- Russia 753,382
- France 636,303
- Canada 414,283
- United Kingdom 306,876
- Germany 210,977
- Argentina 202,538
- Ukraine 149,602
- Australia 94,978
- Brazil 93,290
- South Africa 88,994
- Belarus 67,823
- Hungary 60,180
- Mexico 54,350
- Spain 54,073
- Belgium 52,285
- Netherlands 32,780
- Italy 30,728
- Uruguay 30,060
[edit] Bahá'í
Largest Bahá'í populations (as of 2005):
- India 1,716,148
- United States 753,423
- Iran 463,151
- Vietnam 356,133
- Kenya 308,292
- Bolivia 269,246
- South Africa 255,775
- Philippines 229,522
- D.R. Congo 224,596
- Zambia 162,443
- Thailand 144,243
- Venezuela 141,072
- Tanzania 140,593
- Malaysia 97,078
- Chad 80,683
- Myanmar 79,044
- Pakistan 78,658
- Uganda 66,546
- Colombia 64,758
- 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]
[edit] Lists by country
- Buddhism by country
- Hinduism by country
- Islam by country
- Judaism by country or Jewish population
- Roman Catholicism by country
- Protestantism by country
- Christianity by country
- No Faith by Country