List of religious populations From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. The specific problem is: Lack of organization in the article, multiple internal contradictions, and formatting inconsistencies. Please help improve this article if you can. (February 2013) Main category: Religious demographics This is a list of religious populations by proportion and population. Estimates made by reliable sources differ. The CIAs World Factbook gives the population as 7,021,836,029 (July 2012 est.) and the distribution of religions as Christian 33.39% (of which Roman Catholic 16.85%, Protestant 6.15%, Orthodox 3.96%, Anglican 1.26%), Muslim 22.74%, Hindu 13.8%, Buddhist 6.77%, Sikh 0.35%, Jewish 0.22%, Bahai 0.11%, other religions 10.95%, non-religious 9.66%, atheists 2.01% (2010 est.).[1] Contents 1 Adherent estimates 1.1 Notes 2 By proportion 2.1 Christians 2.2 Muslims 2.3 Buddhists 2.4 Hindus 2.5 Ethnic/Indigenous 2.6 Indigenous 2.7 Judaism 2.8 Baháís 2.9 Irreligious and atheist 2.10 Sikhism 2.11 Taoists/Confucianists/Chinese traditional religionists 2.12 Jainism 2.13 Mormonism 2.14 Spiritism 3 By population 3.1 Christians 3.2 Muslims 3.3 Buddhists 3.4 Hindus 3.5 Jews 3.6 Sikhs 3.7 Baháís 3.8 Jainism 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Adherent estimates Size of Major Religious Groups, 2012 Religion Percent Christianity 31.5% Muslim 23.2% Unaffiliated 16.3% Hindu 15.0% Buddhist * 7.1% Folk 5.9% Other 0.8% Jewish 0.2% Pew Research Center, 2012[2] Adherents says Sizes shown are approximate estimates, and are here mainly for the purpose of ordering the groups, not providing a definitive number.[3] Religion Adherents Christianity 2.1 billion Islam 1.6 billion Secular[a]/Nonreligious[b]/Agnostic/Atheist ≤ 1.1 billion Hinduism 1 billion Chinese traditional religion[c] 394 million Buddhism[d] 376 million Ethnic religions excluding some in separate categories 300 million African traditional religions 100 million Sikhism 23 million Juche[e] 19 million Spiritism 15 million Judaism 14 million Baháí 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 800,000 Rastafarianism 600,000 Scientology 500,000 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.[3] According to a 2012 study by Gallup International 59% of the world said that they think of themselves as religious person [sic], 23% think of themselves as not religious whereas 13% think of themselves as convinced atheists.[4] 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. 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 500 million represents traditional Buddhists (have taken refuge in the Three Jewels, those following all of the precepts of Buddhism laid down by the Buddha,) whereas the larger number of 1.2 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.[5][6] 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 Vatican City 100% Pitcairn Islands 100% (100% Seventh-day Adventist)[7] Samoa ~99%[8] Romania 99%[9] American Samoa 98.3%[10] Malta 98.1%[11] (mostly Roman Catholic) Venezuela 98%[12] (96% Roman Catholic) Greece 98% [13] (95% Greek Orthodox) Marshall Islands 97.2%[14] Tonga 97.2%[15] San Marino 97%[16] (~97% Roman Catholic) Paraguay 96.9%[17] (mostly Roman Catholic) Peru 96.5%[18] (mostly Roman Catholic) El Salvador 96.4%[19] Kiribati 96%[20] Federated States of Micronesia ~96%[21] Barbados 95.1%[22] Papua New Guinea 94.8%[23] East Timor 94.2%[24][25] Armenia 93.5%[26] (mostly Armenian Apostolic) 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 Saudi Arabia 100 %[27] (90–95% Sunni, 5–10% Shia[28]) Maldives 100% (mostly Sunni)[29] Mauritania 100% (mostly Sunni) Turkey 99.8% (mostly Sunni) Somalia 99.8% (mostly Sunni)[30] Afghanistan ~99%[31] (mostly Sunni, 20% Shia)[32] Yemen 99.1% (99.9%) (65–70% Sunni, 30–35% Shia) Morocco 98.7% (mostly Sunni) Algeria 98.3%[33] (mostly Sunni) Iran 98% (mostly Shia)[34] Tunisia 98% (mostly Sunni) Comoros 98% (mostly Sunni)[35] Sudan 97%[36] (mostly Sunni) Libya 96.6% (99%)[37] (Sunni) Pakistan 96.4%[38] (85–90% Sunni, 10–15% Shia)[39] Iraq 95% (60–65% Shia, 33–40% Sunni) Djibouti 94% (mostly Sunni)[40] Niger 93% (mostly Sunni)[41] Bangladesh 89.4% (Sunni)[42] Egypt 89.3% (Sunni)[43] Remarks: Because officially Muslim governments (such as Saudi Arabia,[44] Iran,[45] Sudan,[46] Somalia,[47] Afghanistan,[48] Pakistan[49] and Persian Gulf States[50]) 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. While conversion to Islam is among its most supported tenets, conversion from Islam to another religion is considered to be the sin of apostasy. According to the Hadith[51] and in some countries it is subject to the penalty of death.[52] 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 2013): Buddhism – Percentage by country Cambodia 97% (Theravada – 93% practicing) Japan 96% (Mahayana – 36% practicing) Thailand 95% (Theravada – 93% practicing) Taiwan 93% (Mahayana – 35% practicing) Mongolia 93% (Vajrayana – 53% practicing) Myanmar 90% (Theravada – 80% practicing) Hong Kong 90% (Mahayana – 15% practicing) Bhutan 84% (Vajrayana – 75% practicing) Macau 80% (Mahayana – 17% practicing) Vietnam 75% (Mahayana – 10% practicing) Christmas Island 75% (Mahayana – 36% practicing) Sri Lanka 70% (Theravada – 69% practicing) Laos 67% (Theravada – 65% practicing) Singapore 51% (Mahayana – 33% practicing) China 50% (Mahayana – 20% practicing) South Korea 50% (Mahayana – 23% practicing) Malaysia 21% (Mahayana – 18% practicing) Brunei 17% (Mahayana – 9% practicing) Northern Mariana Islands 16% (Mahayana – 10% practicing) North Korea 14% (Mahayana – 2% practicing) Remarks: 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, 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.[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] 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 Nepal 81.3%[62] India 80.5%[63] Mauritius 54%[64] Fiji 33.7%[65] Guyana 28%[66] Bhutan 25%[67] Suriname 20%[68] Trinidad and Tobago 18.2%[69] United Arab Emirates 15%[70] Sri Lanka 12.6%[71] Kuwait 12%[72] Bangladesh 9.6%[73] Bahrain 8.1%[74] Réunion 6.7%[75][dead link] Malaysia 6.3%[76] Singapore 5.1% Oman 3%[77] Seychelles 2.1%[78] Pakistan 1.8%[79] Indonesia 1.69%[80] Ethnic/Indigenous Indigenous All of the below come from the U.S Department of State 2009 International Religious Freedom Report, [81] 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. Haiti 50%[82] Guinea-Bissau 50% Cameroon 40% Togo 33%[83] Côte dIvoire 25% Sudan 25%[84] Benin 23% Burundi 20% Philippines 16%[85] Burkina Faso 15% New Zealand 15%[86] South Africa 15%[87] Democratic Republic of the Congo 12% Central African Republic 10% Gabon 10% Lesotho 10% Nigeria 10% Sierra Leone 10%[88] Indonesia 9%[89] Kenya 9% Palau 9%[90] Ghana 8.5% Guinea 5% Judaism Jewish population by country, 2006. Countries with the greatest proportion of Jews (as of 2010): Israel 75.4%[91] Palestine 17% [92] Monaco 2.9%[93] United States 2.1%[94] Gibraltar 2.1% Cayman Islands 1.71%[95] Netherlands Antilles^ 1.3% Canada 1.1% France 0.75%[96] Argentina 0.62%[97] Uruguay 0.5%[98] Australia 0.5% Hungary 0.45%[99] U.S. Virgin Islands 0.45%[99] Latvia 0.3%[99] Germany 0.25%[100] Netherlands 0.2%[101] New Zealand 0.17%[99] Ukraine 0.16%[99] Russia 0.09%[102] Baháís Countries with the greatest proportion of Baháís (as of 2010) with a national population ≥200,000: Belize 2.5% Bolivia 2.2% Zambia 1.8% Mauritius 1.8% Guyana 1.6% Vanuatu 1.4% Barbados 1.2% Trinidad and Tobago 1.2% Panama 1.2% Kenya 1.0% Lesotho 0.9% Papua New Guinea 0.9% Réunion 0.9% Chad 0.9% Botswana 0.8% Gambia 0.8% Suriname 0.8% Congo, Republic of the 0.6% Solomon Islands 0.6% Venezuela 0.6% Sources: Most Bahai Nations (2010). QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2010. Retrieved 2013-08-20. which used the World Christian Database for adherents estimates based on information provided by the World Christian Encyclopedia and World Christian Trends. A source whos only systematic flaw was to consistently have a higher estimate of Christians than other cross-national data sets.[103] See The Largest Bahai Communities. Largest Religious Communities. Adherents. 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-20. for 2000 estimates among all nations. Irreligious and atheist See also: Irreligion by country World nonreligious population by percentage, Dentsu Institute (2006) and Zuckerman (2005)[104] Countries with the greatest proportion of people without religion (including agnostics and atheists) from Irreligion by country (as of 2007): Estonia 71-82% (76,6%) Japan 64–88% (76%)[105] Sweden 46–82% (64%) Vietnam 44%–81% (62.5%) Denmark 72% Macau 60.9%[106] Czech Republic 54–61% (57.5%) Hong Kong 57%[107] China 47% [108] (details) France 43–64%[109] (53.5%) Norway 31–72% (51.5%) Netherlands 39–55% (47%) Finland 28–60% (44%) United Kingdom 31–52% (41.5%)[109] (25% England and Wales)[110] South Korea 30–52% (41%) Germany 25[100]-55%[111] (40%) Hungary 32–46% (39%) Belgium 42–43% (38.75%) New Zealand 34.7%[112] Bulgaria 34–40% (37%) Slovenia 35–38% (36.5%) Russia[113] 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.[3] See Spiritual but not religious. Sikhism Countries with the greatest proportion of Sikhs: India 1.9% United Kingdom 1.2%[114][115] Canada 0.9%[116] Malaysia 0.5%[117] Fiji 0.3%[118] Singapore 0.3%[119][120] United States 0.2%[121][122] New Zealand 0.2%[123] Australia 0.1%[124][125] Italy 0.1%[126] 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.[127] 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;[128] these religions are not ubiquitous worldwide in the way that adherents of bigger 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.[129] Taiwan 33–80%[130] China 30%[131] Hong Kong 28%[107] Macau 13.9%[106] Singapore 8.5%[132] Malaysia 2.6%[133] South Korea 0.2-1%[134] Vietnam 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.[135][136] Jainism India 0.033% Suriname 0.3% Fiji 0.2% Kenya 0.2% Mormonism Global distribution of LDS Church members in 2009 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 Churchs reported membership was roughly 15,000,000 at the start of 2013. Spiritism Cuba 10.3% Jamaica 10.2% Brazil 4.8% Suriname 3.6% Haiti 2.7% Dominican Republic 2.2% The Bahamas 1.9% Nicaragua 1.5% Trinidad and Tobago 1.4% Guyana 1.3% Venezuela 1.1% Colombia 1.0% Belize 1.0% Honduras 0.9% Puerto Rico 0.7% Panama 0.5% Iceland 0.5% Guadeloupe 0.4% Argentina 0.2% Guatemala 0.2% Source: thearda/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): United States 229,157,250[137] Brazil 169,213,130[138] Mexico 106,204,560[139] Nigeria 80,510,000[140] Philippines 78,790,000[141] Russia 67,640,000[142] China 67,070,000[140] Democratic Republic of the Congo 63,150,000[140] France 55,948,600 Italy 55,832,000 Ethiopia 51,477,950 Germany 50,752,580[143] Colombia 44,502,000 Ukraine 41,973,000 South Africa 40,243,000 Spain 38,568,000 Poland 36,526,000 Argentina 33,497,100 Kenya 33,625,790 United Kingdom 33,200,417 Muslims A map of Muslim populations by numbers, (Pew Research Center, 2009). Largest Muslim populations (as of 2013): Indonesia 206,986,560[80] Pakistan 180,608,292 India 160,945,000[144] Bangladesh 132,937,800 Nigeria 80,000,000 Iran 73,238,340 Egypt 70,056,000 Turkey 70,036,838 Algeria 36,092,810 Morocco 31,351,800 Afghanistan 30,112,680 Sudan 30,064,180 Iraq 29,767,300 Ethiopia 28,120,050 Saudi Arabia 26,624,560 Uzbekistan 25,628,240 Yemen 23,836,523 China 20,095,870 Syria 19,601,750 Malaysia 17,085,402 Russia 16,482,000[144] Buddhists Largest Buddhist populations (as of 2013): Top 20 Buddhist countries/territories (by population) Rank Country Practicing Buddhists Country Cultural Buddhists 1 China 269,917,168 China 674,792,919 2 Thailand 62,726,752 Japan 122,162,952 3 Japan 45,811,107 Vietnam 69,358,393 4 Burma Burma/Myanmar 44,133,864 Thailand 64,075,714 5 Sri Lanka 15,172,954 Burma Burma/Myanmar 49,650,597 6 Cambodia 14,141,151 India 36,624,011 7 South Korea 11,259,697 South Korea 24,477,602 8 India 9,766,403 Taiwan 21,668,736 9 Vietnam 9,247,786 Sri Lanka 15,172,954 10 Taiwan 8,154,901 Cambodia 14,749,373 11 Malaysia 5,333,111 Hong Kong 6,464,452 12 Nepal 3,347,329 United States 6,333,371 13 United States 2,216,680 Malaysia 6,221,962 14 Indonesia 1,808,353 Laos 4,485,761 15 Singapore 1,801,900 Indonesia 4,269,722 16 Mongolia 1,710,053 North Korea 3,411,416 17 Hong Kong 1,077,409 Nepal 3,347,329 18 Russia 1,000,000 Mongolia 3,000,660 19 Bangladesh 818,274 Singapore 2,784,754 20 France 791,419 Russia 2,000,000 Hindus Largest Hindu populations (as of 2010): India 957,636,314 Nepal 21,354,570 Bangladesh 14,274,430 Indonesia 4,012,470[145] Pakistan 2,603,895 Sri Lanka 2,554,606 Malaysia 1,700,100 United States 1,543,730 United Arab Emirates 1,239,610 South Africa 749,870 Mauritius 665,820 United Kingdom 630,000 Tanzania 403,570 Canada 333,901 Kuwait 328,440 Singapore 264,370 Fiji 261,097[65] Trinidad and Tobago 240,100[69] Myanmar 203,000[146] Bhutan 177,100 Germany 120,000 Jews Largest Jewish populations (as of 2011): United States 6,588,065[147] Israel 5,907,500[148] France 493,600 Canada 375,000[99] United Kingdom 291,000[99] Russia 194,000[99] Argentina 181,800[99] Germany 119,000[99] Australia 97,300[149] Brazil 95,300[99] Ukraine 70,200[99] South Africa 67,000[99] Hungary 48,200[99] Mexico 39,200[99] Belgium 30,000[99] Italy 28,200[99] Chile 18,500[99] Turkey 17,400[99] Uruguay 17,300[99] Belarus 12,000[99] Sikhs Largest Sikh populations India 22,892,600 UK 853,000 Canada 620,200 USA 500,010 Malaysia 120,000 Bangladesh 100,000 Italy 70,000 Thailand 70,000 Myanmar 70,000 United Arab Emirates 50,000 Germany 40,000 Mauritius 37,700 Australia 35,000 Pakistan 29,150 Kenya 20,000 Kuwait 20,000 Philippines 20,000 New Zealand 17,400 Indonesia 15,000 Singapore 14,500 Baháís Largest Baháí populations (as of 2010) in countries with a national population ≥200,000:[150] India 1,897,651 United States 512,864 Kenya 422,782 Vietnam 388,802 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 282,916 Philippines 275,069 Iran 251,127 Zambia 241,112 South Africa 238,532 Bolivia 215,359 Tanzania 190,419 Venezuela 169,811 Uganda 95,098 Chad 94,499 Pakistan 87,259 Burma (Myanmar) 78,915 Colombia 70,504 Malaysia 67,549 Thailand 65,096 Papua New Guinea 59,898 Jainism As of 2005:[151] India 5,146,697 United States 79,459 Kenya 68,848 United Kingdom 16,869 Canada 12,101 Tanzania 9,002 Nepal 6,800 Uganda 2,663 Burma 2,398 Malaysia 2,052 South Africa 1,918 Fiji 1,573 Japan 1,535 Australia 1,449 Suriname 1,217 Réunion 981 Belgium 815 Yemen 229
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 20:19:21 +0000