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.

The World Religion Project (WRP) aims to provide detailed information about religious adherence worldwide since 1945. It contains data about the number of adherents by religion in each of the states in the international system. These numbers are given for every half-decade period (1945, 1950, etc., through 2010). Percentages of the states' populations that practice a given religion are also provided. (Note: These percentages are expressed as decimals, ranging from 0 to 1, where 0 indicates that 0 percent of the population practices a given religion and 1 indicates that 100 percent of the population practices that religion.) Some of the religions (as detailed below) are divided into religious families. To the extent data are available, the breakdown of adherents within a given religion into religious families is also provided.

The project was developed in three stages. The first stage consisted of the formation of a religion tree. A religion tree is a systematic classification of major religions and of religious families within those major religions. To develop the religion tree we prepared a comprehensive literature review, the aim of which was (i) to define a religion, (ii) to find tangible indicators of a given religion of religious families within a major religion, and (iii) to identify existing efforts at classifying world religions. (Please see the original survey instrument to view the structure of the religion tree.) The second stage consisted of the identification of major data sources of religious adherence and the collection of data from these sources according to the religion tree classification. This created a dataset that included multiple records for some states for a given point in time. It also contained multiple missing data for specific states, specific time periods and specific religions. The third stage consisted of cleaning the data, reconciling discrepancies of information from different sources and imputing data for the missing cases.

The Global Religion Dataset: This dataset uses a religion-by-five-year unit. It aggregates the number of adherents of a given religion and religious group globally by five-year periods.

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.

World Religions Across Regions

Analyzing Adherence Across Regions, States and the Global System

By Correlates of War Project [source]

About this dataset

The World Religion Project (WRP) is an ambitious endeavor to conduct a comprehensive analysis of religious adherence throughout the world from 1945 to 2010. This cutting-edge project offers unparalleled insight into the religious behavior of people in different countries, regions, and continents during this time period. Its datasets provide important information about the numbers and percentages of adherents across a multitude of different religions, religion families, and non-religious affiliations.

The WRP consists of three distinct datasets: the national religion dataset, regional religion dataset, and global religion dataset. Each is focused on understanding individually specific realms for varied analysis approaches - from individual states to global systems. The national dataset provides data on number of adherents by state as well as percentage population practicing a given faith group in five-year increments; focusing attention to how this number evolves from nation to nation over time. Similarly, regional data is provided at five year intervals highlighting individual region designations with one modification – Pacific Ocean states have been reclassified into their own Oceania category according to Country Code Number 900 or above). Finally at a global level – all states are aggregated in order that we may understand a snapshot view at any five-year interval between 1945‐2010 regarding relationships between religions or religio‐families within one location or transnationally.

This project was developed in three stages: firstly forming a religions tree (a systematic classification), secondly collecting data such as this provided by WRP according to that classification structure – lastly cleaning the data so discrepancies may be reconciled and imported where needed with gaps selected when unknown values were encountered during collection process . We would encourage anyone wishing details undergoing more detailed reading/analysis relating various use applications for these rich datasets - please contact Zeev Maoz (University California Davis) & Errol A Henderson _(Pennsylvania State University)

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How to use the dataset

The World Religions Project (WRP) dataset offers a comprehensive look at religious adherence around the world within a single dataset. With this dataset, you can track global religious trends over a period of 65 years and explore how they’ve changed during that time. By exploring the WRP data set, you’ll gain insight into cross-regional and cross-time patterns in religious affiliation around the world.

Research Ideas

• Analyzing historical patterns of religious growth and decline across different regions
• Creating visualizations to compare religious adherence in various states, countries, or globally
• Studying the impact of governmental policies on religious participation over time

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. Data Source

License

License: Dataset copyright by authors - You are free to: - Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially. - Adapt - remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. - You must: - Give appropriate credit - Provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. - ShareAlike - You must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. - Keep intact - all notices that refer to this license, including copyright notices.

Columns

File: WRP regional data.csv | Column name | Description | |:-----------------|:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Year | Reference year for data collection. (Integer) | | Region | World region according to Correlates Of War (COW) Regional Systemizations with one modification (Oceania category for COW country code ...

As of 2020, Christianity was the largest religion in the world, with around 2.5 billion believers. In the second place was Islam, with around 1.9 billion adherents.

This map service shows the breakdown of religious groups by population and percentage for each country. The total population (July 2013 estimate) by country is also included. Map Service published and hosted by Esri Canada © 2013. Content Source(s): Countries, ArcGIS Online World Religions, CIA, The World Factbook 2012 (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html#195 & http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/#wrapper)World Religions, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm), Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/), Web Archive (http://archive.org/web/web.php), Cultural Crossing (http://www.culturecrossing.net/) and the Association of Religion Data Archives (http://www.thearda.com/). Coordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere (WKID 102100) Update Frequency: As Required Publication Date: June 2013 Islam includes Sunni, Shia and DruzeChristianity includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Mormon and Jehovah’s WitnessTraditional includes Indigenous beliefs, Shamanism, Spiritualist and AnimistJudaism includes Jewish and ZionistBuddhism includes Buddhist, Shinto, Taoist and Folk religionsSyncretic includes Chondogyo, Cao Dai, Bantu, Voodoo, Modekngei, Kimbanguist and RastafarianNon-religious includes Atheist, Agnostic and IrreligionUnaffiliated includes none, unspecified and unknownOther includes Yezidi and Ethnoreligionist

This statistic illustrates the projected growth of major religious groups from 2015 to 2060. In 2060, it is projected that there will be about 2.9 billion Muslims worldwide, compared to 1.7 billion Muslims in 2015.

Author: A Buckingham, educator, Minnesota Alliance for Geographic EducationGrade/Audience: grade 8, high schoolResource type: lessonSubject topic(s): culture, gisRegion: worldStandards: Minnesota Social Studies Standards

Standard 1. People use geographic representations and geospatial technologies to acquire, process and report information within a spatial context.

Standard 7. The characteristics, distribution and complexity of the earth’s cultures influence human systems (social, economic and political systems).

Standard 14. Globalization, the spread of capitalism and the end of the Cold War have shaped a contemporary world still characterized by rapid technological change, dramatic increases in global population and economic growth coupled with persistent economic and social disparities and cultural conflict. (The New Global Era: 1989 to Present)

Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Acquire the knowledge and skill to use Google Maps.
2. Demonstrate various applications of Google Maps.
3. Evaluate their ability to use Google Maps.
4. Collect and describe information about various world religion sites.
5. Identify and illustrate the significance of various world religion sites.Summary: There are two main goals of this lesson. The first goal is to expose students to potential applications of Google Maps by demonstrating a content-based activity that requires the use of Google Maps. The second goal is to examine the geographic placement of religious sites and their historical significance.

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.

Census: Population: by Religion: Christian: Karnataka: Female data was reported at 585,211.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 511,959.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Christian: Karnataka: Female data is updated decadal, averaging 548,585.000 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 585,211.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 511,959.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Christian: Karnataka: Female 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.GAE004: Census: Population: by Religion: Christian.

This dataset shows the Worker Population Ratio (WPR), in percentage terms, for major religions, based on usual status (ps+ss). For years before 2017-18, the data was obtained in different quinquennial rounds of NSSO conducted from 2004-05 (NSS 61st) to 2011-12 (NSS 68th round). From 2017-18 the data is sourced from the annual report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data highlights the proportion of the working population within major religious communities.

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.

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.

Dataset

This dataset was created by Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo

Contents

Census: Population: by Religion: Christian: Puducherry: Male data was reported at 37,157.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 32,214.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Christian: Puducherry: Male data is updated decadal, averaging 34,685.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37,157.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 32,214.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Christian: Puducherry: Male 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.GAE004: Census: Population: by Religion: Christian.

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.

Content

In this dataset, you will find information about the billions of religious believers and their population's growth over a 65 year time period from 1945 to 2010.

Acknowledgements

This dataset comes from https://data.world/cow/world-religion-data.

Religious beliefs and moral attitudes.

Thopics: perceived change in violence on the streets, bribery, adultery and tax evasion during the last 10 years; justifyability of tax evasion (scale); justifyability of death penality; attitude towards: homosexual adoption, right to commit suicide, men more right for job than women; attitudes towards abortion in different circumstances (scale);
individual or public responsability for pensions; cuts in unemployment benefits; smoking ni public buildings; goals in education of children: indepdendence, obedience, creativity; attitudes towards income differeces; attitudes towards homeless people in neighbourhood; acceptance of nepotism (Kohlberg); Criteria for selecting patients for important surgery in hospitals; attitudes towards euthanasia; rules about good and bad; source of morality (scale); control over life; solving problems: individual vs. society; social orientation; volunteering: religious organizations, non-religious organizations; geographical mobility; residence of best friend; nationality of respondent; nationality of mother; nationality of father; attitudes towards migrants (ethnocentrism); political interest; party preference; least preferred party; reception of political news; concept of god; beliefs about life after death; salvation; conditions of salvation; theodizee (scale); respondent´s religiosity (self-assessment); beliefs influence daily life; beliefs influence important decisions; spiritual life; church attendance; frequency of praying; religious services: birth, marriage, death; conceptions of jesus; conceptions of the bible; dramatic change around millennium; denominational membership; closeness to church; women as priests; conversion experience; church attendance at age 12; transcendental experiences; possession of holy object; power of holy obejct; possession of talisman or lucky charm; power of talisman or lucky charm; consult horoscope; take horoscope into account in daily life; share of friends with different religion; perceived percentage of religious people in country; role of religion in world; attitudes towards: girls cover heads, take soft drugs, prevent blood transfusion, commit suicide; attitudes towards religious groups (enrichement, cause of conflict, other religious teachings, Jehovas witness, scientologist); truth in religion; religious symbols in schools; financial support: religious schools, religions; attitudes towards: oath with reference to God; consult religions in making laws, nurse may refuse legal abortion; attitutes towards science; desired influence of churches on politics; perceived influence of churches on politics;

Demographics: gender; age (year of birth); highest level of education; emloyment status; status of unpaid work; secondary job; marital status; steady life partner; partner´s highest level of education; partner´s religion; partner´s church attendance; number of children; household (number of children +18; 13-17; 5-12; less than 4); net household income; acceptance of cut in income for solidarity with poorest countries; community size; national ranking of community size; history of church membership;

Additionally coded: length of interview; year of interview.

Optional questions (not asked in all countries): importance of freedom; importance of equality; God concerned with every individual; God is valuable in humankind; life has meaning because of a God; sorrows have meaning if beliefs in a God; sorrows receive meaning from yourself; death is natural resting point; death is passage to another life; life has meaning if yourself give meaning; Virgin Mary was taken to heaven; believe in saints; father´s religion at age 12; father attend religious services at age 12; mothers´s religion at age 12; mother attend religious services at age 12; education in religious schools; profession (ISCO); partner´s profession (ISCO), community size (not grouped); pope hinders unity of Christians; religious services: sober; religious services: music and ceremonial clothes; pope should adapt his message; laity involvement; meaning of Christmas; month of interview; father´s highest level of education; mother´s level of education; number of household members

Additional questions in the BELGIAN questionnaire (only substantial questions. No country specific versions of questions from the masterquestionnaire): meaning of marriage in church; homosexuals may marry; light candle when enter church; water from Lourdes at home; pilgrimage; particular devotion: Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, other saint; blessing of house; blessing of car; sector of employment;

Addtional questions in the BRITISH questionnaire (only substantial questions. No country specific versions of questions from the masterquestionnaire): image of God: mother-father; image of God: master-spouse; image of God: judge-lover; image of God: friend-king; members of religious groups; attended Sunday School; ethnic group in neighbourhood; time lived in UK; women more...

In 2023, over 87 percent of Indonesians declared themselves to be Muslim, followed by 7.4 percent who were Christians. Indonesia has the largest Islamic population in the world and for this reason is often recognized as a Muslim nation. However, Indonesia is not a Muslim nation according to its constitution. The archipelago is a multifaith country and officially recognizes six religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

Not all provinces in Indonesia are Muslim majority
The spread of Islam in Indonesia began on the west side of the archipelago, where the main maritime trade routes were located. Until today, most of the Indonesian Muslim population are residing in Western and Central Indonesia, while the majority religion of several provinces in Eastern Indonesia, such as East Nusa Tenggara and Bali, is Christian and Hindu, respectively.

Discrimination towards other beliefs in Indonesia The Indonesian constitution provides for freedom of religion. However, the Government Restrictions Index Score on religion in Indonesia is relatively high. Indonesians who practice unrecognized religions, including Indonesia’s indigenous or traditional belief systems, such as animism, dynamism, and totemism, face legal restrictions and discrimination. Indonesian law requires its citizens to put one of the recognized religions on their national identity cards, with some exceptions for indigenous religions. Although legally citizens may leave the section blank, atheism or agnosticism is considered uncommon in Indonesia.