According to a survey conducted in 2020, there were approximately **** million Muslims in the United States in 2020, up from about **** in 2011.

Spain has a long history of Islamic tradition under its belt. From cuisine to architecture, the southern European country has been linked to the North of Africa through many common elements. At the end of 2023, there were approximately 2.41 million Muslims in Spain, most of them of Spanish and Moroccan nationality, with upwards of eight hundred thousand believers in both cases. With a Muslim population of more than 660,000 people, Catalonia was home to the largest Muslim community in Spain as of the same date.

The not so Catholic Spain

Believers of a religion other than Catholicism accounted for approximately 3 percent of the Spanish population, according to the most recent data. Although traditionally a Catholic country, Spain saw a decline in the number of believers over the past years. Compared to previous years, when the share of believers accounted for slightly over 70 percent of the Spanish population, the Catholic community lost ground, while still being the major religion for the foreseable future.

A Catholic majority, a practicing minority

Going to mass is no longer a thing in Spain, or so it would seem when looking at the latest statistics about the matter: 50 percent of those who consider themselves Catholics almost never attend any religious service in 2024. The numbers increased until 2019, from 55.5 percent of the population never attending religious services in 2011 to 63.1 percent in 2019. The share of population that stated to be practicing believers and go to mass every Sunday and on the most important holidays accounted for only 15.5 percent.

In 2020, around **** percent of the Iranian population identified as Muslim. Around ** percent identified as Shia Muslims in the same year, while a much smaller share followed the Sunni Muslim religion. In Iran, most Sunni Muslims belong to ethnic minority groups. Iran’s demographics The total population in Iran has grown steadily and is expected to surpass ** million in 2028. The vast majority of the population in the country was between 15 and 64 years of age. At the same time, the share of people aged above 64 increased in recent years and constituted over ***** percent of the total population. Muslim population worldwide In Europe, it was estimated that the Muslim population could triple by the middle of the century. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia had the largest share of Muslims as a proportion of its population. On the African continent, the highest number of Muslims was estimated in Nigeria, with close to a hundred million Islam followers. In the United States, less than one percent of the population identified as Muslims.

This statistic displays the projected Muslim population of Europe from 2010 to 2050, compared with that of non-Muslims. For the 2050 projections, three different scenarios are presented, one for zero migration to Europe, one for medium migration and the last for a high level of immigration. In the scenario where zero-migration occurs the total non-Muslim population of Europe would actually decrease from ****** million people to ****** million people. In the high migration scenario, Muslims are predicted to number ***** million people, in which the total non-Muslim population of Europe is ****** million.

According to India's last census in 2011, about 14.2 percent of the total population identified as Muslims. This was an increase from about ten percent in 1951. Overall, India has been a religiously pluralistic and multiethnic democracy with people of several faiths.

In 2024, Nigeria had the largest Muslim population in Africa, with around 105 million people who belonged to an Islamic denomination. Egypt and Algeria followed with 90.4 million and 39.4 million Muslims, respectively. Muslims have a significant presence in Africa, with an estimated 50 percent of the continent's population identifying as Muslim. The spread of Islam in Africa began in the 7th century with the arrival of Arab traders, and it continued through Islamic scholars and missionaries.

Islam is the major religion in many African countries, especially in the north of the continent. In Comoros, Libya, Western Sahara, at least 99 percent of the population was Muslim as of 202. These were the highest percentages on the continent. However, also in many other African nations, the majority of the population was Muslim. In Egypt, for instance, Islam was the religion of 79 percent of the people. Islam and other religions in Africa Africa accounts for an important share of the world’s Muslim population. As of 2019, 16 percent of the Muslims worldwide lived in Sub-Saharan Africa, while 20 percent of them lived in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Together with Christianity, Islam is the most common religious affiliation in Africa, followed by several traditional African religions. Although to a smaller extent, numerous other religions are practiced on the continent: these include Judaism, the Baha’i Faith, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Number of Muslims worldwide Islam is one of the most widespread religions in the world. There are approximately 1.9 billion Muslims globally, with the largest Muslim communities living in the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, Indonesia hosts the highest number of Muslims worldwide, amounting to over 200 million, followed by India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Islam is also present in Europe and America. The largest Islamic communities in Europe are in France (5.72 million), Germany (4.95 million), and the United Kingdom (4.13 million). In the United States, there is an estimated number of around 3.45 million Muslims.

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.

Between 2010 and 2024 in the Netherlands, the percentage of people who do not identify with any religion increased from 45 percent to 56 percent. The largest religious group in 2024 was the Roman Catholic group, with 17 percent of Dutch people identifying as Roman Catholic. In 2024, 14 percent of the Dutch population considered themselves a member of the three main protestant churches, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. The percentage of people who identify as Muslim has remained the same at five percent over the years. Do the people who identify with a religion always participate? The percentage of people in the Netherlands who participate in a religion is not necessarily the same as that of people who identify with a religion. The most prominent religious group, the Roman Catholics, only saw a participation of three percent, the same as those identifying with the Protestant Church, despite only six percent identifying with that denomination. The highest participation rate is in the group 'other' with four percent, despite only 10 percent identifying in those religions. It shows, therefore, that some religions see significantly higher participation rates despite a lower percentage identifying with it. Does the percentage of Muslims in the Netherlands align with the perceived percentage of Muslims? In 2018, the Dutch population believed that 20 percent of the population was Muslim, even though only five percent were Muslim. This overestimation of the Muslim population is in line with the rest of Europe. Germany, for example, predicted a Muslim population of 21 percent while the actual Muslim population was four percent. In Belgium, residents believed that 27 percent of the population was Muslim, while in reality, it was only five percent.

This statistic displays the projected Muslim population proportions in selected European countries in 2050, by scenario. In 2010 the proportion of Muslims in the population of Germany was *** percent, compared with *** percent in the UK and *** percent in France. Depending on the different migration scenarios estimated here, Germany's share of Muslims in the population could rise up to **** percent of it's population by 2050, higher than both the UK and France, with projected Muslim populations of **** and ** percent respectively.

This statistic shows the estimated number of Muslims living in different European countries as of 2016. Approximately **** million Muslims were estimated to live in France, the most of any country listed. Germany and the United Kingdom also have large muslim populations with **** million and **** million respectively.

In 2020, Indonesia recorded the largest population of Muslims worldwide, with around 239 million. This was followed with around 226.88 million Muslims in Pakistan and 213 million Muslims in India.

In 2024, Nigeria accounted for 7.08 percent of the global Muslim population, the highest share among African countries. Egypt and Algeria followed, with shares of 6.12 percent and 2.67 percent, respectively. Islam has a significant presence in Africa, with an estimated 50 percent of the continent's population identifying as Muslim. The spread of Islam in Africa began in the 7th century with the arrival of Arab traders, and later continued through Islamic scholars and missionaries.

The Finnish Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. More than 65 percent of the inhabitants in Finland were part of the Christian community in 2023. The largest Christian community in Finland is the Evangelical Lutheran Church, followed by the Orthodox Church. However, around 1.88 million people were not members of any religious community. People from other religious groups amounted to roughly 20,500, followed by 24,057 from the Muslim community.

Immigration to Finland

While the number of immigrants to Finland remained below 35 thousand in the past decade, this number has started to increase noticeably since 2021. As of 2022, almost 50 thousand people immigrated to Finland, almost 73 percent more compared to the previous year. The significant increase in immigrants was caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which started on February 24, 2022. That year, over six thousand people immigrated to Finland from Russia, over twice as many as in the previous year.

The Finnish population is aging

While the number of individuals belonging to the younger age groups in Finland declined from 2018 to 2023, the age group of 60 years and older continued to increase. By the end of 2023, its size was over 1.6 million. The growing number of individuals aged 60 or older reflects the change towards an older population structure of the country. In total, the population of Finland amounted to roughly 5.6 million as of 2023. The largest age groups were 20- to 39-year-olds, and 40- to 59-year-olds, which together made up over half of the population.

Kenya had a Muslim population of roughly 5.6 million people, according to the last country census conducted in 2019. Nearly 50 percent of individuals adhering to Islam lived in the Northern-East counties of Mandera (856.5 thousand people), Garissa (815.8 thousand people), and Wajir (767.3 thousand people). Overall, around 10 percent of Kenya's population identified as Muslim.

According to a survey conducted in South Korea in 2023, over ** percent of respondents reported no religious affiliation, while approximately ** percent identified as Christians and ** percent as Buddhists. Religious population South Korea is a multi-religious society where Christianity, Buddhism, and various other religions coexist with shamanism. According to a previous study, the domestic religious population appeared to decline over time after reaching its peak in 2005, at nearly ** million people. In contrast, the share of people who are religiously unaffiliated has increased in recent years. Within the last two decades, the religiously unaffiliated population has increased from about ** percent to more than ** percent. Shamanism Shamanism has continued to significantly influence the daily lives of many South Koreans. According to a survey conducted in 2023, about ** percent of respondents reported having consulted a fortune-teller within the past year. Roughly ** percent of those respondents were already affiliated with a religion.

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.

This statistic represents the proportion of Muslims consuming alcohol in France in 2019, by age group. It appears that ** percent of older Muslims who were 50 years and over reported drinking alcohol. Conversely, ** percent of young Muslims under 25 years old were living alcohol-free.

The Hajj to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is considered among the world’s largest human gatherings, with over **** million pilgrims in 2025. The Saudi government restricted Hajj to residents in Saudi Arabia only during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The number of Hajj pilgrims dropped to about **** thousand in 2021. Like other religious pilgrimages, Hajj is considered an annual rite of passage to renew one's moral and spiritual connection. Approximately a quarter of the human population identify themselves as Muslims. According to their faith of Islam, it is one of their five religious duties to perform the Hajj at least once in their lifetime. Who are the pilgrims? According to Islamic tradition, any Muslim who has reached maturity is due to perform the Hajj. During the last Hajj season before the COVID-19 pandemic, about two thirds of the pilgrims to Mecca came from outside of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom. The government of Saudi Arabia issues each years’ Hajj visas on a country quota system, based on the size of the Muslim population .     Financial aspects   One main condition for a mature Muslim to qualify to perform the Hajj is to be free of debt and other financial and social obligations. Many Muslims around the world spend a significant amount of their life-savings to be able to make this spiritual journey. As an example, the cost of performing Hajj for a Malaysian Muslim was calculated at about ***** thousand Malaysian ringgits. For first time Hajj pilgrims, the Malaysian government subsidizes more than half of that amount. Some Muslims who can’t afford the financial or physical challenges of the Hajj sometimes perform the smaller Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca called Umrah, which can be attempted all year round.

In 1800, the population of the area of modern-day Bangladesh was estimated to be just over 19 million, a figure which would rise steadily throughout the 19th century, reaching over 26 million by 1900. At the time, Bangladesh was the eastern part of the Bengal region in the British Raj, and had the most-concentrated Muslim population in the subcontinent's east. At the turn of the 20th century, the British colonial administration believed that east Bengal was economically lagging behind the west, and Bengal was partitioned in 1905 as a means of improving the region's development. East Bengal then became the only Muslim-majority state in the eastern Raj, which led to socioeconomic tensions between the Hindu upper classes and the general population. Bengal Famine During the Second World War, over 2.5 million men from across the British Raj enlisted in the British Army and their involvement was fundamental to the war effort. The war, however, had devastating consequences for the Bengal region, as the famine of 1943-1944 resulted in the deaths of up to three million people (with over two thirds thought to have been in the east) due to starvation and malnutrition-related disease. As the population boomed in the 1930s, East Bengal's mismanaged and underdeveloped agricultural sector could not sustain this growth; by 1942, food shortages spread across the region, millions began migrating in search of food and work, and colonial mismanagement exacerbated this further. On the brink of famine in early-1943, authorities in India called for aid and permission to redirect their own resources from the war effort to combat the famine, however these were mostly rejected by authorities in London. While the exact extent of each of these factors on causing the famine remains a topic of debate, the general consensus is that the British War Cabinet's refusal to send food or aid was the most decisive. Food shortages did not dissipate until late 1943, however famine deaths persisted for another year. Partition to independence Following the war, the movement for Indian independence reached its final stages as the process of British decolonization began. Unrest between the Raj's Muslim and Hindu populations led to the creation of two separate states in1947; the Muslim-majority regions became East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan), separated by the Hindu-majority India. Although East Pakistan's population was larger, power lay with the military in the west, and authorities grew increasingly suppressive and neglectful of the eastern province in the following years. This reached a tipping point when authorities failed to respond adequately to the Bhola cyclone in 1970, which claimed over half a million lives in the Bengal region, and again when they failed to respect the results of the 1970 election, in which the Bengal party Awami League won the majority of seats. Bangladeshi independence was claimed the following March, leading to a brutal war between East and West Pakistan that claimed between 1.5 and three million deaths in just nine months. The war also saw over half of the country displaced, widespread atrocities, and the systematic rape of hundreds of thousands of women. As the war spilled over into India, their forces joined on the side of Bangladesh, and Pakistan was defeated two weeks later. An additional famine in 1974 claimed the lives of several hundred thousand people, meaning that the early 1970s was one of the most devastating periods in the country's history. Independent Bangladesh In the first decades of independence, Bangladesh's political hierarchy was particularly unstable and two of its presidents were assassinated in military coups. Since transitioning to parliamentary democracy in the 1990s, things have become comparatively stable, although political turmoil, violence, and corruption are persistent challenges. As Bangladesh continues to modernize and industrialize, living standards have increased and individual wealth has risen. Service industries have emerged to facilitate the demands of Bangladesh's developing economy, while manufacturing industries, particularly textiles, remain strong. Declining fertility rates have seen natural population growth fall in recent years, although the influx of Myanmar's Rohingya population due to the displacement crisis has seen upwards of one million refugees arrive in the country since 2017. In 2020, it is estimated that Bangladesh has a population of approximately 165 million people.