Eastern Orthodoxy by country

Based on the numbers of adherents, the Eastern Orthodox Church (also known as Eastern Orthodoxy) is the second largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church, with the most common estimates of baptised members being approximately 220 million. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The numerous Protestant groups in the world, if taken all together, substantially outnumber the Eastern Orthodox, ^[4] but they differ theologically and do not form a single communion. ^[5]

Overview

In 2025, Russia was home to most of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christians, with 101.5 million of them living within Russia borders (72%); at the same time, Ukraine had 27.8 million people following the religion (65.4%), followed by Romania (16.3 million or 81.1%), Greece (9.4 million or 90%) and Belarus (7.8 million or 83.3%). ^[6] It was the most popular religion in Moldova, with 93.3% of that country following Eastern Orthodoxy.

In 2024, Eastern Orthodoxy was the predominant religion in Russia (62%), ^[7] where roughly half the world's Eastern Orthodox Christians live. The religion is also heavily concentrated in the rest of Eastern Europe, where in 2007 it was the majority religion in Ukraine (65.4% ^[8] –77%), ^[9] Romania (82%), ^[10] Belarus (48% ^[11] –73% ^[12] ), Greece (95%–98%), ^[10] Serbia (97%), ^[10] Moldova (93%), ^[10] Georgia (84%), ^[10] North Macedonia (65%), ^[10] Cyprus (89%) ^[10] and Montenegro (72%); ^[10] it is also predominant in the disputed territories of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria. In 2021, it was the dominant religion in Bulgaria (62.7%). ^{[13] [14]}

At the start of the 21st century, significant minorities were present in several European countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (31%), ^[10] Latvia (18%), Estonia (14%), Albania (7%), ^[15] Lithuania (4%), Croatia (4%), Slovenia (2%), and Finland (1.5%). In the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, Eastern Orthodoxy constituted the dominant religion in northern Kazakhstan, representing 23.9% of the population of the region in 2013. ^[16] It was also a significant minority in Kyrgyzstan (17%), Turkmenistan (5%), Uzbekistan (5%), Azerbaijan (2%), ^[10] and Tajikistan (1%). In the Levant, the most significant Eastern Orthodox populations are^{[ when? ]} in Lebanon (8%), ^[17] Syria (5–8% prior to the 2011 civil war) in Palestine (0.5%–2.5%) ^[18] and Jordan (over 1%).^{[ citation needed ]}

The percentage of Christians in Turkey, home to an historically large and influential Eastern Orthodox community, fell from 19% in 1914 to 2.5% in 1927, ^[19] due to genocide, ^[20] demographic upheavals caused by the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, ^[21] and the emigration of Christians to foreign countries (mostly in Europe and the Americas). ^[22] In 2021, there were 130,000 Orthodox Christians in Turkey (mainly adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church). ^[23] In 2022, there was a large increase in the number of Eastern Orthodox Christians in Turkey to over 150,000 people; this included approximately 100,000 people escaping the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^[24]

In 2010, there were 40 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in Africa, although 39 million of them lived in Ethiopia or Eritrea; in 2021 and 2022, the Russian Orthodox Church opened more than 200 parishes throughout the continent, and had plans to build a cathedral in Johannesburg. ^[25]

Recent^{[ when? ]} immigration and missionary activity have raised^{[ citation needed ]} the numbers of Eastern Orthodox adherents in traditionally Catholic and Protestant countries, including Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada and Switzerland, where they comprise roughly 2% of the population in each.^{[ citation needed ]}

Eastern Orthodox population by country

Eastern Orthodox population by country

There is no universal agreement on the number of members of the Eastern Orthodox Church in each country. Each study performed that seeks to discover the number of adherents in a country may use different criteria, and be submitted to different populations. As such, some numbers may be inflated, and therefore inaccurate. Examples of this are Greece and Russia, where estimates of adherence to Eastern Orthodoxy may reach 80–98%, but where surveys found lower percentages professing Eastern Orthodoxy or belief in God. The likely reason for this disparity is that many people in majority Eastern Orthodox countries will culturally identify with the Eastern Orthodox Church, especially if they were baptized as children, even if they are not currently practicing. This includes those who may be irreligious, yet culturally identify with the Eastern Orthodox Church, or for whom Eastern Orthodox Christianity is listed on official state records. Other cases of incongruent data also might be due to counting ethnic groups from Eastern Orthodox countries rather than actual adherents. For example, the Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States, which has large numbers of immigrants from Eastern Orthodox countries, have collectively reported a total of 2–3 million across the country.^{[ citation needed ]}

However, a 2010 study by Alexei Krindatch sought data from each parish, with the specific criteria of annual participation, discovering that there were only about 817,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians actively practicing their faith (i.e., attending church services on a regular basis) in the United States. The study explained that such a difference was due to a variety of circumstances, for example the higher numbers having counted all people who self-identify as Eastern Orthodox on a census regardless of active participation, or all people belonging to ethnic groups originating in Eastern Orthodox countries. This study, while initially controversial, proved groundbreaking, and has since been officially approved for use by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America.^{[ citation needed ]}

Country	Total population	% Eastern Orthodox	Eastern Orthodox total
Albania (details)	2,621,977	7.22% [B]	173,645 [B] [26]
Armenia (details)	3,018,854	0.25%	7,587 [27]
Australia (details)	23,824,600	2.6%	563,100 [28]
Austria (details)	8,773,000	6%	500,000
Azerbaijan (details)	9,624,900	2.5%	240,000
Belarus (details)	9,349,645	83.3% [29]	7,788,254
Bosnia and Herzegovina (details)	3,502,227	31% [10]	1,086,733
Brazil (details)	210,147,125	0.064%	135,000
Bulgaria (details)	6,445,481 [30]	63.5% [31]	4,091,780
Canada (details)	33,476,688	1.7%	550,690 [32]
China (details)	1,386,000,000	0.001%	15,000
Croatia (details)	4,284,889	4.44% [33]	195,969
Cyprus (details)	838,897	89.1% [10]	781,900
Czech Republic (details)	10,538,275	0.2%	20,533
Egypt (details)	105,000,000	0.3%	350,000 [34]
Estonia (details)	1,294,486	13.66%	176,773 [35] [36]
France (details)	67,150,000	1%	500,000–700,000 [37]
Fiji (details)	912,241	0.02%	200+ [38]
Finland (details)	5,477,359	1.1% [39]	70,000
Georgia (details)	3,713,804	83.4%	3,097,312
Germany (details)	84,270,625	3.56%	3,000,000 [40]
Greece (details)	10,423,054	90% [41]	9,380,749
Grenada (details)	107,317	0.1%	100 [42]
Guatemala (details)	17,263,239	3%	200,000–550,000
Israel (details)	9,010,050 [10]	0.67% [10]	100,000
Italy (details)	60,795,612	1.5%	900,000 [43]
Japan (details)	126,226,568	0.02%	20,000 [44]
Jordan (details)	9,531,712	2–4.5%	150,000–350,000
Kazakhstan (details)	17,948,816	23.9%	4,300,000 [16]
Korea, South (details)	51,413,925	0.01%	6,000
Kosovo * (details)	1,433,842	1.5% [A]	25,837 [C]
Kyrgyzstan (details)	5,895,100	17% [45]	1,000,000
Latvia (details)	2,027,000	17.9%	370,000 [46]
Lebanon (details)	4,525,247	9%	330,000
Lithuania (details)	2,966,954	4.2%	125,189 [47]
Madagascar (details)	26,262,313	0.06%	15,000 [48]
Mexico (details)	121,736,809	0.01%	15,000
Moldova (details)	3,383,332	93.3%	3,158,015 [49]
Montenegro (details)	629,320	81%	509,749 [50]
New Zealand (details)	4,599,327	0.3%	13,883 [16]
North Macedonia (details)	2,022,547	69.8%	1,610,184 [51]
Norway (details)	5,328,212	0.41%	21,993 [52]
Palestine (details)	4,550,368	2.5% [18]	100,000
Philippines	109,035,343 [53]	0.002%	2,500 [54]
Poland (details)	38,386,000	1.4%	504,400 [55]
Romania (details)	20,121,641	81.1%	16,321,389 [56]
Russia (details) [57]	145,500,000	61.8% [7] [58] -72% [59] [60]	101,450,000 [60] –104,000,000 [61] [62]
Serbia (details)	7,237,375	84%	6,079,395 [63]
Slovakia (details)	5,397,036	0.9%	49,133 [64]
Slovenia (details)	2,055,496	2.2%	45,000
Spain (details)	46,464,053	3.1%	1,500,000
Sweden (details)	9,775,572	1.5%	145,279 [65]
Switzerland (details)	8,211,700	1.7%	140,000 [66]
Syria (details)	22,457,336	3.1%	700,000
Tajikistan (details)	8,208,000	2%	160,000
Transnistria (details)	505,153	91% [67]	460,000
Turkey (details)	84,277,439	0.02%	16,000 [68]
Turkmenistan (details)	5,171,643	5.3% [69]	270,000
Ukraine (details)	40,000,000	65.4–76.6% [9]	27,802,000 [8] –34,850,000 [9]
United States (details)	321,163,157	0.3%	1,043,850 [70]
United Kingdom (details)	67,886,011	0.7%	475,000
Uzbekistan (details)	29,559,100	5% [71]	1,000,000
TOTAL	3,331,625,296	4% [72]	~220 million [2]

A Unreliable census (boycotted by most Serbs).

B Unreliable census

Eastern Orthodox Church by jurisdiction

Further information: Eastern Orthodox Church organization

Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches

The Eastern Orthodox Church is organized as a union of several autocephalous subdivisions, which are also called "Churches" (or, sometimes, "jurisdictions"). Some are associated with a specific country, while others are not. This table presents some known data regarding individual jurisdictions. "NA" means that data is not available.

Eastern Orthodox Church by jurisdiction

Jurisdiction	Bishops	Priests	Monastics	Monasteries	Parishes
Constantinople	125	NA	1,800 [Note 1]	142	648
Alexandria	41	NA	NA	NA	NA
Antioch	36	NA	NA	NA	NA
Jerusalem	20	NA	NA	NA	NA
Russia	217	30,675	NA	807	30,142
Serbia	45	NA	NA	286	3,100
Romania	53	15,068	7,605	359	15,717
Bulgaria	15	1,500	NA	120	2,600
Georgia	37	730	NA	NA	600
Cyprus	16	NA	NA	67	NA
Greece	101	10,000	3,541 [73]	646 [73]	9,146 [74]
Poland	12	NA	NA	NA	400
Albania	6	135	NA	150	909
Czech Lands & Slovakia	6	NA	NA	NA	172
Orthodox Church in America	50	2700	NA	100	1200
Ukraine	NA	NA	NA	NA	7,000 [75] [76]
North Macedonia	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Total	743	54,382	12,946	2,256	61,939

Notes

1. This is including Mount Athos

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