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Between 2015 and 2060, Muslim population is projected to increase by 70%. [1] This compares with the 32% growth of world population during the same period. [2]
According to a study published in 2011 by Pew Research, whilst there is a lack of reliable data, religious conversion might have no net impact on the Muslim population as the number of people who convert to Islam is thought to be similar to those who leave Islam. [3] [4] [5] According to another study published in 2015 by the Pew Research Center, Islam is expected to gain a net of 3 million adherents through religious conversion between 2010 and 2050, which makes Islam the second largest religion in terms of net gains through religious conversion after religiously unaffiliated, mostly comes from Sub-Saharan Africa (2.9 million). [6] In 1900 Muslims only numbered 200 million followers or 12% of the world population. This percentage drastically increased over the last 100 years due to higher birth rate in Muslim majority countries. [7] [8] Pew Research have estimated the number will be around 2.2 billion in 2030 and 2.8 billion, or 30 percent of world population, in 2050. [9] [10]
The six fastest-growing religions in the world are estimated to be Islam (1.84%), the Baháʼí Faith (1.70%), Sikhism (1.62%), Jainism (1.57%), Hinduism (1.52%), and Christianity (1.38%), with high birth rates being cited as the major reason. [11]
Islam is currently the largest religion in Asia. According to the Pew Research Center, 27.3% of the people living in the Asia-Pacific region in 2030 will be Muslim, up from about a quarter in 2010 (24.8%) and 21.6% in 1990. [3]
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in India. [12] Growth rate of Muslims has been consistently higher than the growth rate of Hindus, ever since the census data of independent India has been available. For example, during the 1991–2001 decade, Muslim growth rate was 29.5% (vs 19.9% for Hindus). However, Muslims population growth rate declined to 24.6% during 2001–2011 decade, in keeping with the similar decline in most religious groups of India. [13] [14] [15] [16]
In India regarding attitudes "toward birth control," younger (ages 10–19) Muslim women are supporting so. (ages 20–30). Regarding "knowledge of birth control," younger (ages 10–19) Muslim women know less than do older (ages 20–30). "Muslim marriages take place earlier" than other religions, and younger (ages 10–19). [17] A 2016 study suggested that urban north Indian Muslim women's use of contraceptives was more influenced by socioeconomic factors than by religion. [18] Making up 14.2% of the country's population with about 172 million adherents (2011 census). [19] In 2010, India had the second or third largest population of Muslims. [20]
In China, Muslim population growth has been estimated to be as much as 2.7% from 1964 to 1982, however the Pew Research Center projects a slowing down of Muslim population growth in China. [21] By contrast, China's Christian population growth has been estimated at 4.7% based on total population figures from the year 1949. [22] The number of permitted births in China varies between one and three children depending on geographic area. [23]
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Europe. [24] [25] According to the Pew Research Center, the Muslim population in Europe (excluding Turkey) was about 30 million in 1990, and 44 million in 2010; the Muslim share of the population increased from 4.1% in 1990 to 6% in 2010. [3] In recent years, "Europe has experienced a record influx of asylum seekers fleeing from Syria and predominantly Muslim countries" due to various conflicts in its country. [26] And, the wave of Muslim migrants has caused debates about immigration and security policies and raised questions about the current and future number of Muslims in Europe. [26] There were approximately 19 million Muslims in the European Union in 2010 or about (3.8%). [27] Data for the rates of growth of Islam in Europe reveal that the growing number of Muslims is due primarily to immigration. [28] Additionally, average Muslims today are younger and have a higher fertility than other Europeans. [26] Between the mid-2010 and mid-2016, migration was the biggest factor driving the growth of Muslim populations in Europe. [29] Approximately, 2.5 million Muslims came to Europe for reasons other than employment and education. [29] And, more than 1.3 million Muslims received and are expected to receive refugee status, allowing them to stay in Europe. [29]
In 2016, the median age of Muslims throughout Europe was 30.4, 13 years younger than the median age of other Europeans. [29] 50% of all European Muslims are younger than 30, however, only 32% of non-Muslims in Europe were under the age of 30. [29] A survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2016 found that Muslims make up 4.9% of all Europe's population. [30] According to a same study conversion does not add significantly to the growth of the Muslim population in Europe, with roughly 160,000 more people leaving Islam than converting into Islam between 2010 and 2016. [30]
In France, there are an estimated 100,000 Muslim converts, compared with about 50,000 in 1986. [31] The population mostly originate from the Maghreb, and, France is home to a third of EU Muslims. [32] As of mid-2016, there are 5.7 million Muslims in France (8.8% of the population) and the Muslim population continues to grow. [29]
In Germany, there are approximately 5 million Muslims (6.1% of the population), and at least 2.3 million trace their origin to Turkey. [29] [32] The "guest worker program" and the domination of Turkish religious authorities have increased German Islam. [32] A report from Pew found "Germany as the top destination for Muslim migrants between 2010 and 2016".Other Muslims have origins in Syria, Tunisia and Afghanistan [33]
The United Kingdom is home to 3.5 million Muslims (6.5% of the population) according to the 2021 census and has the highest number of Muslim migrants. [33] [32] Most originate from South Asia, particularly Pakistan. [32]
Counting the number of converts to a religion is difficult, because some national censuses ask people about their religion, but they do not ask if they have converted to their present faith, and, in some countries, legal and social consequences make conversion difficult, such as the death sentence for leaving Islam in some Muslim countries. [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] Statistical data on conversion to and from Islam are scarce. [39] According to a study published in 2011 by Pew Research, what little information is available suggests that religious conversion has no net impact on the global Muslim population as the number of people who convert to Islam is roughly similar to those who leave Islam. [3] [4] [39] According to another study published on 2015 by Pew research center, Islam is expected to experience a modest gain of 3 million adherents through religious conversion between 2010 and 2050, although this modest impact will make Islam, compared with other religions, the second largest religion in terms of net gains through religious conversion after religiously unaffiliated, which expected has the largest net gains through religious conversion. [6]
According to The New York Times , an estimated 25% of American Muslims are converts. [40] In Britain, around 6,000 people convert to Islam per year and, according to a June 2000 article in the British Muslims Monthly Survey, the majority of new Muslim converts in Britain were women. [41] According to The Huffington Post , "observers estimate that as many as 20,000 Americans convert to Islam annually." [42]
According to Pew Research, the number of U.S. converts to Islam is roughly equal to the number of U.S. Muslims who leave the religion, unlike other religions, in which the number of those leaving is greater than the number of converts. [43] 77% of new converts to Islam are from Christianity, whereas 19% were from non-religion. Conversely, 55% of Muslims who left Islam became non-religious, and 22% converted to Christianity. [43] Data from the General Social Survey in the United States show that 32 percent of those raised Muslim no longer embrace Islam in adulthood, and 18 percent hold no religious identification. [44]
According to historian Geoffrey Blainey from the University of Melbourne, since the 1960s, there has been a substantial increase in the number of conversions from Islam to Christianity, mostly to the Evangelical and Pentecostal forms. [45] Many Muslims who convert to Christianity face social and governmental persecution. [45] According to 2015 Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background": A Global Census study published by Baylor University institute for studies of religion, an estimated 10.2 million Muslims have converted to Christianity based on global missionary data. [46] According to Guinness World Records 2003, approximately 12.5 million more people converted to Islam than people converted to Christianity between 1990 and 2000. [47]
Despite this, Islam remains, on the global level, the second religion with the second largest number of net converts into the religion, with about 420,000 more people converting to Islam than leaving Islam between 2015 and 2020. [48] This number being surpassed by the number of people (7,570,000) switching from "religious" to "unaffiliated". [49]
Year | World population | Muslim population | Islamic followers share (%) |
---|---|---|---|
1800 | 1 billion | 91 million | (9.1%) |
1900 | 1.6 billion | 200 million | (12.5%) |
1970 | 3.7 billion | 577 million | (15.6%) |
2000 | 6.14 billion | 1.291 billion | (21%) |
2013 | 7.21 billion | 1.635 billion | (22.7%) |
2016 | 7.46 billion | 1.8 billion | (24.1%) |
2020 | 7.8 billion | 2 billion | (26%) |
Muslims are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations, such as the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injeel (Gospel). These earlier revelations are associated with Judaism and Christianity, which are regarded by Muslims as earlier versions of Islam. The majority of Muslims also follow the teachings and practices attributed to Muhammad (sunnah) as recorded in traditional accounts (hadith).
Religion in Africa is multifaceted and has been a major influence on art, culture and philosophy. Today, the continent's various populations and individuals are mostly adherents of Christianity, Islam, and to a lesser extent several traditional African religions. In Christian or Islamic communities, religious beliefs are also sometimes characterized with syncretism with the beliefs and practices of traditional religions.
There are 0.8 — 1.05 billion Protestants worldwide, among approximately 2.5 billion Christians. In 2010, a total of more than 800 million included 300 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million in the Americas, 140 million in Asia-Pacific region, 100 million in Europe and 2 million in Middle East-North Africa. Protestants account for nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide and more than one tenth of the total human population. Various estimates put the percentage of Protestants in relation to the total number of the world's Christians at 33%, 36%, 36.7%, and 40%, while in relation to the world's population at 11.6% and 13%.
Conversion to Islam is accepting Islam as a religion or faith and rejecting any other religion or irreligion.
Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law. The state religion of Egypt is Islam, although estimates vary greatly in the absence of official statistics. Since the 2006 census religion has been excluded, and thus available statistics are estimates made by religious and non-governmental agencies. The country is majority Sunni Muslim, with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians. The exact numbers are subject to controversy, with Christians alleging that they have been systemically under-counted in existing censuses.
As of the year 2023, Christianity had approximately 2.4 billion adherents and is the largest religion by population. According to a PEW estimation in 2020, Christians made up to 2.38 billion of the worldwide population of about 8 billion people. It represents nearly one-third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with the three largest groups of Christians being the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The largest Christian denomination is the Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion baptized members. The second largest Christian branch is either Protestantism, or the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Islam is the second-largest religion in Europe after Christianity. Although the majority of Muslim communities in Western Europe formed recently, there are centuries-old Muslim communities in the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, and Volga region. The term "Muslim Europe" is used to refer to the Muslim-majority countries in the Balkans and the Caucasus and parts of countries in Eastern Europe with sizable Muslim minorities that constitute large populations of indigenous European Muslims, although the majority are secular.
Religion has been a major influence on the societies, cultures, traditions, philosophies, artistic expressions and laws within present-day Europe. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity. However, irreligion and practical secularisation are also prominent in some countries. In Southeastern Europe, three countries have Muslim majorities, with Christianity being the second-largest religion in those countries. Ancient European religions included veneration for deities such as Zeus. Modern revival movements of these religions include Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva, Druidry, Wicca, and others. Smaller religions include Indian religions, Judaism, and some East Asian religions, which are found in their largest groups in Britain, France, and Kalmykia.
Christianity and Islam are the two main religions practiced in Nigeria The country is home to some of the world's largest Christian and Muslim populations, simultaneously. Reliable recent statistics do not exist; however, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Muslims, who live mostly in the northern region, and Christians, who live mostly in the southern region of the country. Indigenous religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, have been declining for decades and being replaced by Christianity or Islam. The Christian share of Nigeria's population is also now on the decline, due to a lower fertility rate relative to the Muslim population in the country.
Christianity in Africa arrived in Africa in the 1st century AD, and in the 21st century the majority of Africans are Christians. Several African Christians influenced the early development of Christianity and shaped its doctrines, including Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo. In the 4th century, the Aksumite empire in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of the first regions in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, followed by the Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia and several Christian Berber kingdoms.
Sunni Islam is the dominant religion in Jordan. Muslims make up about 97.2% of the country's population. A few of them are Shiites. Many Shia in Jordan are refugees from Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.
Growth of religion involves the spread of individual religions and the increase in the numbers of religious adherents around the world. In sociology, desecularization is the proliferation or growth of religion, most commonly after a period of previous secularization. Statistics commonly measure the absolute number of adherents, the percentage of the absolute growth per-year, and the growth of converts in the world.
Christianity is the largest religion in Botswana. However, the country is officially secular and allows freedom of religious practice.
Religion in Eritrea consists of a number of faiths. The two major religions in Eritrea are Christianity and Islam. However, the number of adherents of each faith is subject to debate. Estimates of the Christian share of the population range from 47% and 63%, while estimates of the Muslim share of the population range from 37% to 52%.
Conversion to Islam in prisons refers to the modern phenomenon seen in the Western world of a statistically high incidence of incarcerated criminal non-Muslims converting to Islam while in the prison system. In the decade preceding 2014, the number of conversions to Islam among prisoners in Western countries outpaced all other religions, with the overall imprisoned Muslim population growing as a result.
Christian population growth is the population growth of the global Christian community. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were more than 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, more than three times as many as the 600 million recorded in 1910. However, this rate of growth is slower than the overall population growth over the same time period. In 2020, Pew estimated the number of Christians worldwide to be around 2.38 billion. According to various scholars and sources, high birth rates and conversions in the Global South were cited as the reasons for the Christian population growth. In 2023, it was reported: "There will be over 2.6 billion Christians worldwide by the middle of 2023 and around 3.3 billion by 2050, according to a report published in early January by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary."
The main religion in Morocco is Sunni Islam, which is also the state religion of the country. Officially, 99% of the population are Muslim, and virtually all of those are Sunni. The second-largest religion in the country is Christianity, but most Christians in Morocco are foreigners. There is a community of the Baháʼí Faith. Only a fraction of the former number of Maghrebi Jews have remained in the country, many having moved to Israel.
Adherents of Islam constitute the world's second largest religious group. A projection by the PEW suggests that Muslims numbered approximately 1.9 billion followers in 2020. Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world, mostly because Muslims have more children than other major religious groups. Most Muslims are either of two denominations: Sunni or Shia. Islam is the majority religion in several subregions: Central Asia, Western Asia, North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, and the Middle East. The diverse Asia-Pacific region contains the highest number of Muslims in the world, surpassing the combined Middle East and North Africa.
The decline of Christianity in the Western world is the decreasing Christian affiliation in the Western world. While most countries in the Western world were historically almost exclusively Christian, the post-World War II era has seen developed countries with modern, secular educational facilities shifting towards post-Christian, secular, globalized, multicultural and multifaith societies.
Ex-Muslims are people who were raised as Muslims or converted to Islam and later left the religion of Islam. Challenges come from the conditions and history of Islam, Islamic culture and jurisprudence, and sometimes local Muslim culture. This has led to increasingly organized literary and social activism by ex-Muslims, and the development of mutual support networks and organizations to meet the challenges of abandoning the beliefs and practices of Islam and to raise awareness of human rights abuses suffered by ex-Muslims.
Behind the trend: High birthrates in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
India and Pakistan have Muslim populations of roughly similar size, and it is not entirely clear which is larger.
This analysis of religious switching draws on surveys in 19 countries where Muslims constitute a majority of the population. Generally, however, there are few reports of people disaffiliating from Islam in these countries. One reason for this may be the social and legal repercussions associated with disaffiliation in many Muslim-majority countries, up to and including the death penalty for apostasy. It is possible that, in the future, these societies could allow greater freedom for religious disaffiliation. The demographic projections in this report do not seek to predict the likelihood of such changes in political and social dynamics, or to model what the consequences might be.
There are numerous reasons why reliable data on conversions are hard to come by. Some national censuses ask people about their religion, but they do not directly ask whether people have converted to their present faiths. A few cross-national surveys do contain questions about religious switching, but, even in those surveys, it is difficult to assess whether more people leave Islam than enter the faith. In some countries, legal and social consequences make conversion difficult, and survey respondents may be reluctant to speak honestly about the topic. Additionally, for many Muslims, Islam is not just a religion but an ethnic or cultural identity that does not depend on whether a person actively practices the faith. This means that even nonpracticing or secular Muslims may still consider themselves, and be viewed by their neighbors, as Muslims.
there is no substantial net gain or loss in the number of Muslims through conversion, globally; the number of people who become Muslims through conversion seems to be roughly equal to the number of Muslims who leave the faith
Since the 1960s, there has been a substantial increase in the number of Muslims who have converted to Christianity