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.

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

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

This dataset describes the world’s religious makeup in 2020 and 2010. We focus on seven categories: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, people who belong to other religions, and those who are religiously unaffiliated. This analysis is based on more than 2,700 sources of data, including national censuses, large-scale demographic surveys, general population surveys and population registers. For more information about this data, see the associated Pew Research Center report "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020."

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; ...

Global Religious Organizations market size is expected to reach $466.19 billion by 2029 at 4.4%, segmented as by type, public organization, private organization, individuals

The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset (RCS) was created to fulfill the unmet need for a dataset on the religious dimensions of countries of the world, with the state-year as the unit of observation. The third phase, Chief Executives' Religions, provides data on religious affiliations of countries' 'chief executives,' i.e., their presidents, prime ministers, or other heads of state/government exercising largely real, not ceremonial, political power. The dataset, like others in the RCS data project, is designed expressly for easy merger with datasets of the Correlates of War and Polity projects, datasets by the United Nations, the Religion And State datasets by Jonathan Fox, and the ARDA national profiles.

Attitudes towards religious practices.

Topics: assessment of personal happiness; attitudes towards pre-marital sexual intercourse; attitudes towards committed adultery; attitudes towards homosexual relationships between adults; attitudes towards abortion in case of serious disability or illness of the baby or low income of the family; attitudes towards gender roles in marriage; trust in institutions (parliament, business and industry, churches and religious organizations, courts and the legal system, schools and the educational system); mobility; attitudes towards the influence of religious leaders on voters and government; attitudes towards the benefits of science and religion (scale: modern science does more harm than good, too much trust in science and not enough in religious faith, religions bring more conflicts than peace, intolerance of people with very strong religious beliefs); judgment on the power of churches and religious organizations; attitudes towards equal rights for all religious groups in the country and respect for all religions; acceptance of persons from a different religion or with different religious views in case of marrying a relative or being a candidate of the preferred political party (social distance); attitudes towards the allowance for religious extremists to hold public meetings and to publish books expressing their views (freedom of expression); doubt or firm belief in God (deism, scale); belief in: a life after death, heaven, hell, religious miracles, reincarnation, Nirvana, supernatural powers of deceased ancestors; attitudes towards a higher truth and towards meaning of life (scale: God is concerned with every human being personally, little that people can do to change the course of their lives (fatalism), life is meaningful only because God exists, life does not serve any purpose, life is only meaningful if someone provides the meaning himself, connection with God without churches or religious services); religious preference (affiliation) of mother, father and spouse/partner; additional country specific for Kenya: religious preference (affiliation) of mother, father and spouse/partner; religion respondent was raised in; additional country specific for Kenya: religion respondent was raised in; frequency of church attendance (of attendance in religious services) of father and mother; personal frequency of church attendance when young; frequency of prayers and participation in religious activities; shrine, altar or a religious object in respondent’s home; frequency of visiting a holy place (shrine, temple, church or mosque) for religious reasons except regular religious services; self-classification of personal religiousness and spirituality; truth in one or in all religions; attitudes towards the profits of practicing a religion (scale: finding inner peace and happiness, making friends, gaining comfort in times of trouble and sorrow, meeting the right kind of people).

Optional items: conversion of faith after crucial experience; personal sacrifice as an expression of faith such as fasting or following a special diet during holy season such as Lent or Ramadan.

Demography: sex; age; marital status; steady life partner; years of schooling; highest education level; country specific education and degree; current employment status (respondent and partner); hours worked weekly; occupation (ISCO 1988) (respondent and partner); supervising function at work; working for private or public sector or self-employed (respondent and partner); if self-employed: number of employees; trade union membership; earnings of respondent (country specific); family income (country specific); size of household; household composition; party affiliation (left-right); country specific party affiliation; participation in last election; religious denomination; religious main groups; attendance of religious services; self-placement on a top-bottom scale; region (country specific); size of community (country specific); type of community: urban-rural area; country of origin or ethnic group affiliation; additional country specific for Kenya and Tanzania: ethnic group affiliation.

Additionally coded: administrative mode of data-collection; case substitution; weighting factor.

According to Cognitive Market Research, the global Religious Tourism market size will be USD 1354845.6 million in 2024. It will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.00% from 2024 to 2031.

North America held the major market share for more than 40% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 541938.24 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2024 to 2031.
Europe accounted for a market share of over 30% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 406453.68 million.
Asia Pacific held a market share of around 23% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 311614.49 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0% from 2024 to 2031.
Latin America had a market share of more than 5% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 67742.28 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% from 2024 to 2031.
Middle East and Africa had a market share of around 2% of the global revenue and was estimated at a market size of USD 27096.91 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2024 to 2031.
The Day trips and local gateways Type held the highest Religious Tourism market revenue share in 2024.

Market Dynamics of Religious Tourism Market

Key Drivers for the Religious Tourism Market

Increasing Cultural and Spiritual Significance to Increase the Demand Globally

Increasing cultural and spiritual significance is driving the Religious Tourism Market as more people seek meaningful and transformative travel experiences. Religious sites and events offer deep cultural, historical, and spiritual value, attracting visitors interested in exploring heritage and faith. Pilgrimages, religious festivals, and historic landmarks provide unique opportunities for personal reflection, spiritual growth, and cultural immersion. As global interest in spirituality and cultural experiences rises, destinations with rich religious significance see increased tourism. This growing demand is fueled by both personal motivations and organized religious tours, contributing to market expansion. Additionally, the preservation and promotion of significant religious sites enhances their appeal, further driving interest and visitation.

Rising Disposable Income to Propel Market Growth

Rising disposable income is driving the Religious Tourism Market as it enables more people to afford travel for spiritual and cultural experiences. Increased financial resources allow individuals to prioritize and invest in meaningful travel opportunities, including visits to significant religious sites and participation in pilgrimage activities. As disposable incomes grow, people are more willing to spend on experiences that offer personal and spiritual enrichment. This trend is evident in the expanding market for luxury and customized religious tours, as well as higher expenditures on travel, accommodation, and guided services. The ability to comfortably spend on such niche travel experiences supports market growth, as more individuals seek to explore their faith and cultural heritage through dedicated religious tourism.

Restraint Factor for the Religious Tourism Market

Growing Political Instability and Security Concerns to Limit the Sales

Growing political instability and security concerns are restraining the Religious Tourism Market by deterring potential visitors from traveling to affected regions. Political unrest, conflicts, and safety issues can create an environment of uncertainty and risk, making religious destinations less appealing to tourists. Safety concerns, including threats of violence or terrorism, can lead to travel advisories and restrictions, further limiting tourism. These factors impact not only the number of visitors but also the overall attractiveness of destinations. In addition, the negative perception of risk associated with unstable regions can reduce confidence in traveling, causing potential tourists to choose safer, more stable locations. Consequently, the market growth is hindered as destinations facing such issues struggle to attract and retain religious tourists.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Religious Tourism Market

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the Religious Tourism Market, leading to a sharp decline in travel due to global restrictions and safety concerns. Lockdowns, travel bans, and s...

In 2019, Muslim households had the highest average number of people per household. The average size of Muslim households worldwide was about *** people. Unaffiliated and Jewish households had the smallest average size, at *** people per household.

Religious Tourism Market size was valued at USD 1,071 Million in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 1,704.2 Million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 6% from 2026 to 2032.The Religious Tourism Market is experiencing significant growth, driven by a confluence of factors. A rising global interest in spiritual experiences and personal well-being is prompting more individuals to embark on pilgrimages and visit sacred sites . The increasing affordability and accessibility of travel, facilitated by budget airlines and digital booking platforms, have made religious destinations more reachable to a broader demographic . Government initiatives aimed at preserving religious heritage and improving infrastructure further bolster this sector . Additionally, the integration of technology, such as virtual reality tours and mobile applications, enhances the accessibility and appeal of religious sites.

World Youth Day experiences (personal or from family members). Perception and evaluation of World Youth Day coverage. Impact and sustainability of World Youth Day. Attitudes towards religion and the Church. Topics: 1. World Youth Day experiences (personal or of family members): Participation in the World Youth Day in Cologne and form of the event; length of stay at the World Youth Day; previous participation in a major religious event (previous World Youth Day, Taizé, pilgrimage, church day, other (open)); family members as participants in the World Youth Day and relationship; length of stay of family members; guests during the World Youth Day or the days of the encounter; country of origin of the guests; contact; personal participation or participation of family members in the days of the encounter; form of participation. 2. Perception and evaluation of the coverage of WYD: Perception of the coverage of WYD in different media; live broadcasts of WYD seen or heard; topics of these live broadcasts; number of hours of live broadcasts watched in total; aspects of the coverage that remained in the memory; evaluation of the media coverage of WYD. 3.Impact and sustainability of WYD: WYD as a motivation to participate in the Church; more conversations about faith and religion due to WYD in the personal environment; expected impact of WYD in the areas of religion, Mass, Church and community; consequences of WYD (open); expected long-term impact of WYD on the personal environment; change in the Pope´s image due to WYD coverage; positive or negative change in the Pope´s image. 4. Attitudes towards religion and church: religious affiliation; attitude towards the institution of church; frequency of church service attendance; personal involvement in a church group; nature of this church group; self-assessment of religiosity; church must change; basic trust through faith; religion and faith as old hat or uninteresting; desire for more influence of faith and religion in society; stronger interest of young people in religion and faith than it appears (religious silence spiral). Demography: sex; age (year of birth); religious denomination; highest school-leaving qualification; marital status; own children; number of children; occupational status. Additionally coded: ID; city size. Weltjugendtagerfahrungen (persönlich oder von Familienmitgliedern). Wahrnehmung und Bewertung der Berichterstattung über den Weltjugendtag. Auswirkungen und Nachhaltigkeit des Weltjugendtags. Einstellungen zu Religion und Kirche. Themen: 1. Weltjugendtagerfahrungen (persönlich oder von Familienmitgliedern): Teilnahme am Weltjugendtag in Köln und Form der Veranstaltung; Aufenthaltsdauer auf dem Weltjugendtag; frühere Teilnahme an einer religiösen Großveranstaltung (früherer Weltjugendtag, Taizé, Wallfahrt, Kirchentag, sonstiges (offen)); Familienmitglieder als Teilnehmer am Weltjugendtag und Verwandtschaftsverhältnis; Aufenthaltsdauer der Familienmitglieder; Gäste während des Weltjugendtages oder den Tagen der Begegnung; Herkunftsland der Gäste; Kontakt; persönliche Teilnahme bzw. Teilnahme von Familienmitgliedern an den Tagen der Begegnung; Form der Teilnahme. 2. Wahrnehmung und Bewertung der Berichterstattung über den Weltjugendtag: Wahrnehmung der Berichterstattung über den Weltjugendtag in verschiedenen Medien; Live-Übertragungen vom Weltjugendtag gesehen bzw. gehört; Themen dieser Live-Übertragungen; Stundenzahl der verfolgten Live-Übertragungen insgesamt; Aspekte der Berichterstattung, die im Gedächtnis geblieben sind; Bewertung der Medienberichterstattung zum Weltjugendtag. 3. Auswirkungen und Nachhaltigkeit des Weltjugendtags: Weltjugendtag als Motivation zur Mitarbeit in der Kirche; mehr Gespräche über Glauben und Religion aufgrund des Weltjugendtages im persönlichen Umfeld; erwartete Auswirkungen des Weltjugendtages in den Bereichen Religion, Messe, Kirche und Gemeinde; Folgen des Weltjugendtages (offen); erwarteter langfristiger Einfluss des Weltjugendtages auf das persönliche Umfeld; Veränderung des Papst-Images durch die Berichterstattung über den Weltjugendtag; positive oder negative Veränderung des Papst-Images. 4. Einstellungen zu Religion und Kirche: Religionszugehörigkeit; Einstellung zur Institution Kirche; Häufigkeit von Gottesdienstbesuchen; persönliches Engagement in einer kirchlichen Gruppe; Art dieser kirchlichen Gruppe; Selbsteinschätzung der Religiosität; Kirche muss sich ändern; Grundvertrauen durch den Glauben; Religion und Glauben als alter Hut bzw. uninteressant; Wunsch nach mehr Einfluss von Glaube und Religion in der Gesellschaft; stärkeres Interesse von Jugendlichen an Religion und Glauben als es den Anschein hat (religiöse Schweigespirale). Demographie: Geschlecht; Alter (Geburtsjahr); Konfession; höchster Schulabschluss; Familienstand; eigene Kinder; Kinderzahl; berufliche Stellung. Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: ID; Ortsgröße.

The eighth of 20 years of International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) surveys within New Zealand by Professor Philip Gendall, Department of Marketing, Massey University.A verbose rundown on topics covered follows.Attitudes towards religious practices. Assessment of personal happiness; assessment of the responsibility of the government regarding creation of jobs and equalization of incomes; attitude to pre-marital as well as extra-marital sexual intercourse; attitude to homosexuality and abortion; judgement on distribution of roles in marriage and attitude to working women; attitude to living together with a partner before marriage and also without intent to marry; tax honesty and attitude to honesty of citizens towards the government; trust in other people as well as institutions such as parliament, businesses, industry, churches, judiciary and schools.Attitude to influence of church leaders on voters and governments; attitude to benefit of modern science; greater trust in science than in religion; more conflicts instead of peace from religions; intolerance of very religious people; too much influence of religion in one’s country; frequency of personal honorary activities in the last year in political, charitable, religious or other organisations; judgement on the power of churches and religious organisations; doubt or firm belief in God; perceived nearness to God; belief in a life after death, heaven, hell and miracles.Attitude to the Bible; God is concerned with every human; fatalism; the meaning of life and Christian interpretation of life; religious tie at a turning point in life; religious affiliation of father, mother and spouse/partner; frequency of church attendance of father and mother; personal direction of belief and frequency of church attendance when young; frequency of prayer and participation in religious activities; self-classification of personal religiousness; truth in one or in all religions; priority for loyalty to a friend before truth; anticipation of false testimony for the benefit of a friend; belief in lucky charms, fortune tellers, miracle healers and horoscopes; conversion of faith after crucial experience; concept of God; judgement on the world and people as good or bad; social rules or God’s laws as basis for deciding between right and wrong.Demography: sex; age, marital status; living together with a partner; school education; type and time extent of occupation activity; occupation (ISCO-Code); private or public employer; occupational self-employment and number of employees; supervisor function and span of control; time worked each week; income; household size; composition of household; number of co-workers; union membership; party inclination and election behaviour; self-classification on a left-right continuum; religious affiliation; frequency of church attendance; self-classification of social class.Also encoded were: region; rural or urban area; city size; ethnic identification.

This is not a public opinion survey, but a massive, ongoing data codification project by the Pew Research Center that measures how governments and societies around the world restrict religious beliefs and practices. By analyzing hundreds of sources for 198 countries and territories, Pew creates two seminal annual indexes: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI) and the Social Hostilities Index (SHI). This data set provides a quantitative, comparable benchmark to track trends in religious freedom, persecution, and the complex intersection of religion, law, and conflict on a global scale from 2007 to the present.

Are different religions associated with different social, cognitive, and emotional tendencies? Although major world religions are known to encourage social interactions and help regulate emotions, it is less clear to what extent adherents of various religions differ in these dimensions in daily life. We thus carried out a large-scale sociolinguistic analysis of social media messages of Christians and Buddhists living in the United States. After controlling for age and gender effects on linguistic patterns, we found that Christians used more social words and fewer cognitive words than Buddhists. Moreover, adherents of both religions, similarly used more positive than negative emotion words on Twitter, although overall, Christians were slightly more positive in verbal emotional expression than Buddhists. These sociolinguistic patterns of actual rather than ideal behaviors were also paralleled by language used in the popular sacred texts of Christianity and Buddhism, with the exception that Christian texts contained more negative and fewer positive emotion words than Buddhist texts. Taken together, our results suggest that the direct or indirect influence of religious texts on the receivers of their messages may partially, but not fully, account for the verbal behavior of religious adherents.

The RCS-Dem dataset reports estimates of religious demographics, both country by country and region by region. RCS was created to fulfill the unmet need for a dataset on the religious dimensions of countries of the world, with the state-year as the unit of observation. It covers 220 independent states, 26 selected substate entities, and 41 geographically separated dependencies, for every year from 2015 back to 1900 and often 1800 (more than 42,000 state-years). It estimates populations and percentages of adherents of 100 religious denominations including second level subdivisions within Christianity and Islam, along with several complex categories such as 'Western Christianity.' RCS is designed for easy merger with datasets of the Correlates of War and Polity projects, datasets by the United Nations, the Religion And State datasets by Jonathan Fox, and the ARDA national profiles.

The landscape of religious organizations has evolved, reflecting broader societal shifts and economic variables. These institutions have adapted to challenges by embracing digital platforms and enhancing community engagement, leveraging technological innovations to maintain spiritual connections. Economic fluctuations have also impacted how people donate, yet organizations have successfully navigated these changes by offering online donation options and fostering community bonds. Diversification in revenue streams and focusing on inclusivity have allowed many groups to maintain positive revenue growth. Cultural dynamics emphasizing equality have prompted many to adopt practices that resonate with contemporary values, further supporting their mission and outreach. Industry-wide revenue is expected to rise at a CAGR of 0.5% over the past five years, including an estimated 2.5% expansion in 2025 and a total of $159.8 billion. Religious entities have demonstrated resilience, with profitability supported by strategic financial management. Wages constitute a substantial part of budgets, particularly for larger organizations, but careful planning ensures funds are allocated efficiently. Religious entities have managed to end fiscal years with budget surpluses, attributed to diligent cost control and donor support. Digital engagement has become a cornerstone for sustaining financial contributions, allowing steady income and reduced dependency on in-person donations. Though shifting economic conditions posed revenue fluctuations, strategic planning and community-centric approaches have driven ongoing resilience and sustainability. The anticipated trajectory for these organizations suggests a continued embrace of innovative outreach and technology to bolster engagement. Organizations will likely enhance efforts to connect with younger demographics, shaping experiences that align with evolving cultural preferences. The expected rise in donations, influenced by demographic changes and economic stability, presents opportunities for expanded programs and community outreach. By staying attuned to societal shifts and integrating technology, religious groups aim to maintain their relevance and engage broader audiences. The future promises growth through diversified funding, engagement strategies targeting younger members and leveraging technological advancements to strengthen spiritual and communal ties. Industry revenue is expected to boost at a CAGR of 1.4% over the next five years, reaching $171.6 billion in 2030.

Explore insights from Market Research Intellect's Religious Food Market Report, valued at USD 15 billion in 2024, expected to reach USD 25 billion by 2033 with a CAGR of 6.5% during 2026–2033.Uncover opportunities across demand patterns, technological innovations, and market leaders.