In 2022, around 31.6 percent of the global population were identify as Christian. Around 25.8 percent of the global population identify as Muslims, followed by 15.1 percent of global populations as Hindu.

As of 2010, Christianity was the religion with the most followers worldwide, followed by Islam (Muslims) and Hinduism. In the forty years between 2010 and 2050, it is projected that the landscape of world religions will undergo some noticeable changes, with the number of Muslims almost catching up to Christians. The changes in population sizes of each religious group is largely dependent on demographic development, for example, the rise in the world's Christian population will largely be driven by population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Muslim populations will rise across various regions of Africa and South Asia. As India's population is set to grow while China's goes into decline, this will be reflected in the fact that Hindus will outnumber the unaffiliated by 2050. In fact, India may be home to both the largest Hindu and Muslim populations in the world by the middle of this century.

This statistic shows the share of world Christian population by selected countries worldwide in 2010. 11.3 percent of all Christians worldwide were living in the United States in 2010.

From 2022 to 2060, the worldwide population of Muslims is expected to increase by 45.7 percent. For the same period, the global population of Buddhists is expected to decrease by 12.2 percent.

This statistic shows the Denomination of the Christian population worldwide by major traditions in 2010. About 50 percent of all Christians are Catholics.

Christianity is the major religion in numerous African countries. As of 2024, around 96 percent of the population of Zambia was Christian, representing the highest percentage on the continent. Seychelles and Rwanda followed with roughly 95 percent and 94 percent of the population being Christian, respectively. While these countries present the highest percentages, Christianity was also prevalent in many other African nations. For instance, in South Africa, Christianity was the religion of nearly 85 percent of the people, while the share corresponded to 71 percent in Ghana. Religious variations across Africa Christianity and Islam are the most practiced religions in Africa. Christian adherents are prevalent below the Sahara, while North Africa is predominantly Muslim. In 2020, Christians accounted for around 60 percent of the Sub-Saharan African population, followed by Muslims with a share of roughly 30 percent. In absolute terms, there were approximately 650 million Christians in the region, a number forecast to increase to over one billion by 2050. In contrast, Islam is most prevalent in North Africa, being the religion of over 90 percent of the population in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya. Christianity in the world As opposed to other religions, Christianity is widely spread across continents worldwide. In fact, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe each account for around 25 percent of the global Christian population. By comparison, Asia-Pacific and North America make up 13 percent and 12 percent of Christians worldwide, respectively. In several regions, Christians also suffer persecution on religious grounds. Somalia and Libya presented the most critical situation in Africa in 2021, reporting the strongest suppression of Christians worldwide just after North Korea and Afghanistan.

Christianity was the largest religion in a high number of the countries included in the survey. Of the countries, Peru, South Africa, and Poland had the highest share of Christians at around 75 percent. Moreover, around 90 percent in India and Thailand stated that they believed in another religion, with Hinduism and Buddhism being the major religion in the two countries respectively. Sweden and South Korea were the only two countries where 50 percent or more of the respondents stated that they did not have any religious beliefs.

This statistic shows the share of Christians in selected countries worldwide in 2010. 79.5 percent of the population in the United States were of Christian confession.

This statistic shows the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians worldwide in 2010. 246,78 million Christians are living in the United States.

This statistic shows the top 25 countries in the world with the largest number of Christian population in 2010. In 2010, the United States was leading the ranking with about 243 million Christians living in the country.

This statistic shows the regional distribution of Christians in 1910 and 2010 in comparison. 66.3 percent of all Christians worldwide lived in Europe. This number has decreased to a percentage of 25.9 in 2010.

This statistic shows the estimated number of Christians in 1910 and 2010 by global north and global south. In 1910, the majority of the Christian population lived in the global north (503 million adherents), while only a sixth of the Christians lived in the global south (109 million adherents). This ratio has changed. In 2010, the majority of the Christian population now lives in the global south (1.3 billion adherents), and only a third of the global Christian population lives in the north (856 million adherents).

In 2023, 27.5 percent of Americans were unaffiliated with any religion. A further 13.4 percent of Americans were White evangelical Protestants, and an additional 13.3 percent were White mainline Protestants. Religious trends in the United States Although the United States is still home to the largest number of Christians worldwide, the nation has started to reflect a more diverse religious landscape in recent years. Americans now report a wide range of religious beliefs and backgrounds, in addition to an increasing number of people who are choosing to identify with no religion at all. Studies suggest that many Americans have left their previous religion to instead identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular, with many reasoning that they stopped believing in the religion's teachings, that they didn't approve of negative teachings or treatment of LGBTQ+ people, or that their family was never that religious growing up. Christian controversies Over the last few years, controversies linked to Christian denominations have plagued the nation, including reports of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Christian churches have also been accused of supporting discriminatory actions against LGBTQ+ people and people belonging to other religious groups. In addition, there have been increasing concerns about Christian nationalism, the political ideology that asserts that America was founded to be a Christian nation. Although the majority of Americans still think that declaring the United States a Christian nation would go against the U.S. Constitution, studies found that most Republicans would be in favor of this change.

In 2023, North Korea was the country with the strongest suppression of Christians with an index value of 97.8. Somalia followed behind with 91.6, with Yemen in third.

The World Watch List The index ranges from 0 (complete freedom) to 100 (total suppression). The survey for the World Watch List included various aspects of religious freedom: the legal and official status of Christians, the actual situation of Christians living in the country, regulations from the state as well as factors that can undermine the freedom of religion in a country. Christianity worldwide Even though Christianity is the largest religion worldwide, there are many areas of the world where Christians are persecuted. As the list shows, this is especially the case in countries with larger Muslim populations. Moreover, these countries are characterized by their authoritarian nature. The global distribution of religions varies strongly; whereas almost 100 percent of Hindus and Buddhists are found in the Asia-Pacific, Christians are spread around most world regions except the Middle East and North Africa.

This statistic shows the giving levels across congregations in the United States in 2008, by faith tradition. As of 2008, about 11 percent of Catholic adherents give 10 percent or more of their net income regularly to church.

Among the people surveyed in 26 countries around the world, a slight majority of the baby boomer generation were Christians. By comparison, only 42 percent of Generation Z stated that they were Christians. Millennials was the generation with the highest share of people stating that they had a religious belief other than Islam and Christianity.

This statistic shows the percentage of church income by individual donations in the United States in 2008, by faith tradition. As of 2008, individual donations make up for about 97 percent of income of Conservative Protestant churches in the United States.

This statistic shows the sources of congregational income of churches in the United States in 2008, by faith tradition. As of 2008, trust funds, investments, bequets were the source of about 48 percent of Mainline Protestant churches in the United States.

In 2022, 99 percent of Hindus and Buddhists worldwide lived in Asia-Pacific. In comparison, 43 percent of Jews lived in North America, and 45.4 percent lived in the Middle East and North Africa. Christians were more evenly divided around the continents.

This statistic shows the sources of congregational income of churches in the United States in 2008, by church size. As of 2008, trust funds, investments, bequets were the source of about 41 percent of income of small churches with up to 100 members.