In 2021, Muslims around the world spent a total of *** trillion U.S. dollars across the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, fashion, travel, and media/recreation sectors. The global Muslim market has the potential to grow to about *** trillion dollars by 2025. The largest market for Muslim consumers is the halal food and beverage sector.

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.

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 2021, approximately **** percent of the population in Aceh, Indonesia were Muslims. Despite being the largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia is a multi-faith country by the constitution and officially recognizes *** religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

Abstract

The fourth edition of the Global Findex offers a lens into how people accessed and used financial services during the COVID-19 pandemic, when mobility restrictions and health policies drove increased demand for digital services of all kinds.

The Global Findex is the world's most comprehensive database on financial inclusion. It is also the only global demand-side data source allowing for global and regional cross-country analysis to provide a rigorous and multidimensional picture of how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage financial risks. Global Findex 2021 data were collected from national representative surveys of about 128,000 adults in more than 120 economies. The latest edition follows the 2011, 2014, and 2017 editions, and it includes a number of new series measuring financial health and resilience and contains more granular data on digital payment adoption, including merchant and government payments.

The Global Findex is an indispensable resource for financial service practitioners, policy makers, researchers, and development professionals.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Individual

Kind of data

Observation data/ratings [obs]

Sampling procedure

In most developing economies, Global Findex data have traditionally been collected through face-to-face interviews. Surveys are conducted face-to-face in economies where telephone coverage represents less than 80 percent of the population or where in-person surveying is the customary methodology. However, because of ongoing COVID-19 related mobility restrictions, face-to-face interviewing was not possible in some of these economies in 2021. Phone-based surveys were therefore conducted in 67 economies that had been surveyed face-to-face in 2017. These 67 economies were selected for inclusion based on population size, phone penetration rate, COVID-19 infection rates, and the feasibility of executing phone-based methods where Gallup would otherwise conduct face-to-face data collection, while complying with all government-issued guidance throughout the interviewing process. Gallup takes both mobile phone and landline ownership into consideration. According to Gallup World Poll 2019 data, when face-to-face surveys were last carried out in these economies, at least 80 percent of adults in almost all of them reported mobile phone ownership. All samples are probability-based and nationally representative of the resident adult population. Phone surveys were not a viable option in 17 economies that had been part of previous Global Findex surveys, however, because of low mobile phone ownership and surveying restrictions. Data for these economies will be collected in 2022 and released in 2023.

In economies where face-to-face surveys are conducted, the first stage of sampling is the identification of primary sampling units. These units are stratified by population size, geography, or both, and clustering is achieved through one or more stages of sampling. Where population information is available, sample selection is based on probabilities proportional to population size; otherwise, simple random sampling is used. Random route procedures are used to select sampled households. Unless an outright refusal occurs, interviewers make up to three attempts to survey the sampled household. To increase the probability of contact and completion, attempts are made at different times of the day and, where possible, on different days. If an interview cannot be obtained at the initial sampled household, a simple substitution method is used. Respondents are randomly selected within the selected households. Each eligible household member is listed, and the hand-held survey device randomly selects the household member to be interviewed. For paper surveys, the Kish grid method is used to select the respondent. In economies where cultural restrictions dictate gender matching, respondents are randomly selected from among all eligible adults of the interviewer's gender.

In traditionally phone-based economies, respondent selection follows the same procedure as in previous years, using random digit dialing or a nationally representative list of phone numbers. In most economies where mobile phone and landline penetration is high, a dual sampling frame is used.

The same respondent selection procedure is applied to the new phone-based economies. Dual frame (landline and mobile phone) random digital dialing is used where landline presence and use are 20 percent or higher based on historical Gallup estimates. Mobile phone random digital dialing is used in economies with limited to no landline presence (less than 20 percent).

For landline respondents in economies where mobile phone or landline penetration is 80 percent or higher, random selection of respondents is achieved by using either the latest birthday or household enumeration method. For mobile phone respondents in these economies or in economies where mobile phone or landline penetration is less than 80 percent, no further selection is performed. At least three attempts are made to reach a person in each household, spread over different days and times of day.

Sample size for Iran, Islamic Rep. is 1005.

Mode of data collection

Landline and mobile telephone

Research instrument

Questionnaires are available on the website.

Sampling error estimates

Estimates of standard errors (which account for sampling error) vary by country and indicator. For country-specific margins of error, please refer to the Methodology section and corresponding table in Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya Ansar. 2022. The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments, and Resilience in the Age of COVID-19. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Census: Population: by Religion: Muslim: Uttarakhand data was reported at 1,406,825.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,012,141.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Muslim: Uttarakhand data is updated decadal, averaging 1,209,483.000 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,406,825.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 1,012,141.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Muslim: Uttarakhand data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE003: Census: Population: by Religion: Muslim.

In 2020, around 28.8 percent of the global population were identified as Christian. Around 25.6 percent of the global population identify as Muslims, followed by 14.9 percent of global populations as Hindu. The number of Muslims increased by 347 million, when compared to 2010 data, more than all other religions combined.

Project Tycho datasets contain case counts for reported disease conditions for countries around the world. The Project Tycho data curation team extracts these case counts from various reputable sources, typically from national or international health authorities, such as the US Centers for Disease Control or the World Health Organization. These original data sources include both open- and restricted-access sources. For restricted-access sources, the Project Tycho team has obtained permission for redistribution from data contributors. All datasets contain case count data that are identical to counts published in the original source and no counts have been modified in any way by the Project Tycho team, except for aggregation of individual case count data into daily counts when that was the best data available for a disease and location. The Project Tycho team has pre-processed datasets by adding new variables, such as standard disease and location identifiers, that improve data interpretability. We also formatted the data into a standard data format. All geographic locations at the country and admin1 level have been represented at the same geographic level as in the data source, provided an ISO code or codes could be identified, unless the data source specifies that the location is listed at an inaccurate geographical level. For more information about decisions made by the curation team, recommended data processing steps, and the data sources used, please see the README that is included in the dataset download ZIP file.

Saudi Arabia and Malaysia accounted for almost two thirds of the total assets held by Islamic funds in 2021. Jersey was the next largest, with 13.4 percent, while no other single country accounted for more that five percent. However, this list refers to where the funds are domiciled, meaning that the investors who own shares in the fund may not necessarily live in the same country.

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 repository contains historical data collected in the digital humanities project Dhimmis & Muslims – Analysing Multireligious Spaces in the Medieval Muslim World. The project was funded by the VolkswagenFoundation within the scope of the Mixed Methods initiative. The project was a collaboration between the Institute for Medieval History II of the Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, and the Institute for Visualization and Interactive Systems at the University of Stuttgart, and took place there from 2018 to 2021. The objective of this joint project was to develop a novel visualization approach in order to gain new insights on the multi-religious landscapes of the Middle East under Muslim rule during the Middle Ages (7th to 14th century). In particular, information on multi-religious communities were researched and made available in a database accessible through interactive visualization as well as through a pilot web-based geo-temporal multi-view system to analyze and compare information from multiple sources. The code for this visualization system is publicly available on GitHub under the MIT license. The data in this repository is a curated database dump containing data collected from a predetermined set of primary historical sources and literature. The core objective of the data entry was to record historical evidence for religious groups in cities of the Medieval Middle East. In the project, data was collected in a relational PostgreSQL database, the structure of which can be reconstructed from the file schema.sql. An entire database dump including both the database schema and the table contents is located in database.sql. The PDF file database-structure.pdf describes the relationship between tables in a graphical schematic. In the database.json file, the contents of the individual tables are stored in JSON format. At the top level, the JSON file is an object. Each table is stored as a key-value pair, where the key is the database name, and the value is an array of table records. Each table record is itself an object of key-value pairs, where the keys are the table columns, and the values are the corresponding values in the record. The dataset is centered around the evidence, which represents one piece of historical evidence as extracted from one or more sources. An evidence must contain a reference to a place and a religion, and may reference a person and one or more time spans. Instances are used to connect evidences to places, persons, and religions; and additional metadata are stored individually in the instances. Time instances are connected to the evidence via a time group to allow for more than one time span per evidence. An evidence is connected via one or more source instances to one or more sources. Evidences can also be tagged with one or more tags via the tag_evidence table. Places and persons have a type, which are defined in the place type and person type tables. Alternative names for places are stored in the name_var table with a reference to the respective language. For places and persons, references to URIs in other data collections (such as Syriaca.org or the Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire) are also stored, in the external_place_uri and external_person_uri tables. Rules for how to construct the URIs from the fragments stored in the last-mentioned tables are controlled via the uri_namespace and external_database tables. Part of the project was to extract historical evidence from digitized texts, via annotations. Annotations are placed in a document, which is a digital version of a source. An annotation can be one of the four instance types, thereby referencing a place, person, religion, or time group. A reference to the annotation is stored in the instance, and evidences are constructed from annotations by connecting the respective instances in an evidence tuple.

The 2021 census showed that, out of almost 8.8 million residents in Portugal aged 15 years and more, over seven million were catholic. The second most representative religious group in the country was protestant, a community with almost 187 thousand members. Islam accounted for almost 36.5 thousand believers, while Judaism for just 2.9 thousand. Those without religion totaled 1.2 million residents.

Turkey Import: Services: Organization of Islamic Cooperation data was reported at 2.575 USD bn in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.883 USD bn for 2021. Turkey Import: Services: Organization of Islamic Cooperation data is updated yearly, averaging 1.991 USD bn from Dec 2018 (Median) to 2022, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.575 USD bn in 2022 and a record low of 1.334 USD bn in 2020. Turkey Import: Services: Organization of Islamic Cooperation data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Turkish Statistical Institute. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.JA074: Trade Statistics: Services: by Country Group.

The study on diversity of opinion in an open society was conducted by USUMA on behalf of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. In the survey period from 01.12.2021 to 07.04.2022, the German-speaking resident population aged 16 and over (N= 5. 511, including two top-ups of N=406 respondents aged between 16 and 20 and N=502 Muslims) were surveyed in telephone interviews (CATI) on the following topics: interest in politics, left-right scale, feelings of threat, extremist attitudes, left-wing extremist attitudes, right-wing extremist attitudes, populism, conspiracy theories, acceptance of violence, trust in institutions, closeness/dislike of parties, Sunday question. The respondents were selected using a stratified random sample from an ADM selection frame including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample).
Party preference (Sunday question); alternative Sunday question; left-right scale; feelings of threat (worldwide climate change due to global warming, immigration to Germany, economic crisis in Germany, right-wing extremism in Germany, left-wing extremism in Germany, Islamic extremism in Germany, xenophobia in Germany, spread of fake news, the AfD or the left is calling the shots in Germany); extremist attitudes (e.g. Israel should no longer exist as a state, German society is being infiltrated by Muslims, compromises prevent solutions to real problems, the bourgeois state should be abolished, etc.); trust in institutions (German Bundestag, German federal government, courts, police, Office for the Protection of the Constitution, public media such as ARD and ZDF); left-wing extremist attitudes; right-wing extremist attitudes; populism; acceptance of violence; see black for Germany vs. trust that Germany will overcome future challenges; preferred mode of resolving political conflicts in the policy areas of environmental and climate policy, immigration policy, social policy and politics in general: compromises vs. sticking to positions and enforcing them; satisfaction with democracy; conspiracy theories: Evaluation of various claims as true or false (the climate is changing more due to human influence, the corona virus is an excuse to oppress people, there are secret powers controlling the world); specific naming of secret powers controlling the world.

Demography: sex; age; denomination or religious community; frequency of church attendance; German citizenship; highest level of education; employment situation; unemployment for more than 6 months; personal migration background or migration background of parents; assessment of household income; in which current federal state did the respondent grow up; federal state; size of location; size of household; number of persons in the household under 16 years of age; willingness to participate in in-depth telephone interview.

Additionally coded were: Respondent ID; weight; interview date; interview time before the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine on 24.02.2022 or after the start of the war from 24.02. 2022; statement corrected that there are secret powers controlling the world; dual frame: Multiple use of mobile phone numbers (number of people aged 16 and over); number of mobile phone numbers via which the respondent can be reached personally; number of landline numbers; willingness to participate in qualitative interview; right-wing extremism score, left-wing extremism score, Islamism score, populism score, conspiracy score, other score; right-wing extremism core, left-wing extremism core, Islamism core, populism core; start of interview (time); end of interview (time).

In 2021, the largest market for Muslim-friendly travel market was Turkey, valued at almost 5.7 billion U.S. dollars. In comparison, Malaysia had a market value for the Muslim travel segment of 2.4 billion U.S. dollars.

Historically, Portugal has been a country of Catholics. The 2021 census demonstrated that this trend has not been inverted, as over 80 percent of the population in Portugal identified as Catholic. Protestant or Evangelic believers accounted for more than two percent of the population, while Jehovah's Witnesses constituted one percent of residents. Among non-Christian faiths, Muslims were the most representative group, making up 0.42 percent of the population.

Religious but generally not practicing the faith

In the same year, Catholics numbered more than seven million people spread throughout the country, conquering the religious majority in the mainland and in the two autonomous regions. Citizens without religion totaled more than 1.2 million, which made of them the second most numerous religious group in Portugal. Young people presented the same religious trend, with young Catholics being the most representative group, followed by non-religious. Among youngsters, the attendance of religious events was mostly conducted occasionally, while a quarter did not participate in such proceedings at all.

The contribute of immigration to the growth of Evangelical Christianity

Despite being the minority, non-Catholic Christian and non-Christian faiths have been growing in Portugal. In 2011, Evangelical believers totaled 75.6 thousand, more than doubling ten years after. Such growth was partially motivated by the increase in Brazilian immigration, as more than 61 percent of new members of Evangelical churches in 2023 were of Brazilian origin. In fact, Brazil was the place of origin of almost 82 percent of all the immigrant Evangelical Christians residing in Portugal. However, more than a quarter of new Evangelical Christians were Portuguese, which shows that other religions, namely Christian Catholicism, have been losing members to Evangelical Catholicism.

Loans: IB Islamic Bank: Term Loans: Hire Purchase: Passenger Cars data was reported at 127,468.804 MYR mn in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 126,154.079 MYR mn for Feb 2025. Loans: IB Islamic Bank: Term Loans: Hire Purchase: Passenger Cars data is updated monthly, averaging 105,948.461 MYR mn from Jul 2021 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 127,468.804 MYR mn in Mar 2025 and a record low of 84,603.673 MYR mn in Aug 2021. Loans: IB Islamic Bank: Term Loans: Hire Purchase: Passenger Cars data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank Negara Malaysia. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Malaysia – Table MY.KB013: Loans: Outstanding: By Type: Islamic Banking System.

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.

When taken together, Saudi Arabia and Iran accounted for **** percent of assets held by Islamic banks in 2021. Malaysia with third with around **** percent, while no other country held more than ** percent of the total. Overall, total assets of Islamic banks amounted to **** trillion U.S. dollars in 2020.

Malaysia Loans: IB Islamic Bank: Term Loans: Leasing data was reported at 3,773.345 MYR mn in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 3,748.256 MYR mn for Feb 2025. Malaysia Loans: IB Islamic Bank: Term Loans: Leasing data is updated monthly, averaging 2,691.506 MYR mn from Jul 2021 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,773.345 MYR mn in Mar 2025 and a record low of 1,348.973 MYR mn in Sep 2021. Malaysia Loans: IB Islamic Bank: Term Loans: Leasing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank Negara Malaysia. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Malaysia – Table MY.KB013: Loans: Outstanding: By Type: Islamic Banking System.