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 2020, around 98.5 percent of the Iranian population identified as Muslim. Around 81 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 90 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 seven 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.

Im Jahr 2010 waren geschätzt rund 78 Millionen Nigerianer Anhänger einer christlichen und rund 77,3 Millionen Nigerianer Anhänger einer muslimischen Glaubensgemeinschaft. Auf rund 2,3 Millionen Bürger wird die Anhängerschaft der Volksreligionen in Nigeria geschätzt.

Während im Jahr 2010 die christlichen Glaubensgemeinschaften und die muslimischen Glaubensgemeinschaften in Nigeria eine nahezu gleich hohe Anhängerschaft aufweisen, soll, laut der Projektionen der Studie, der überwiegende Anteil der Nigerianer im Jahr 2050 Anhänger einer muslimischen Glaubensgemeinschaft sein.
Für das Jahr 2050 prognostizieren die Autoren der Studie rund 230,7 Millionen Muslime in Nigeria und rund 154,8 Millionen Anhänger einer christlichen Glaubensgemeinschaft.