In 2022, Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims worldwide with around 241.5 million. This was followed with around 225.6 million Muslims in Pakistan and 211.16 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.

Associated with manuscript titled: Fifty Muslim-majority countries have fewer COVID-19 cases and deaths than the 50 richest non-Muslim countriesThe objective of this research was to determine the difference in the total number of COVID-19 cases and deaths between Muslim-majority and non-Muslim countries, and investigate reasons for the disparities. Methods: The 50 Muslim-majority countries had more than 50.0% Muslims with an average of 87.5%. The non-Muslim country sample consisted of 50 countries with the highest GDP while omitting any Muslim-majority countries listed. The non-Muslim countries’ average percentage of Muslims was 4.7%. Data pulled on September 18, 2020 included the percentage of Muslim population per country by World Population Review15 and GDP per country, population count, and total number of COVID-19 cases and deaths by Worldometers.16 The data set was transferred via an Excel spreadsheet on September 23, 2020 and analyzed. To measure COVID-19’s incidence in the countries, three different Average Treatment Methods (ATE) were used to validate the results. Results published as a preprint at https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/84zq5(15) Muslim Majority Countries 2020 [Internet]. Walnut (CA): World Population Review. 2020- [Cited 2020 Sept 28]. Available from: http://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/muslim-majority-countries (16) Worldometers.info. Worldometer. Dover (DE): Worldometer; 2020 [cited 2020 Sept 28]. Available from: http://worldometers.info

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.

In 2023, it was estimated that approximately 87 percent of the Indonesian population were Muslim, accounting for the highest share of Muslims in any Southeast Asian country. Indonesia also has the world's largest Muslim population, with an estimated 229 million Muslims.

Demographics of Indonesia

The total population of Indonesia was estimated to reach around 290 million in 2028. The median age of the population in the country was at an all-time high in 2020 and was projected to increase continuously until the end of the century. In 2020, the population density in Indonesia reached its highest value recorded at about 145.7 people per square kilometer.

Shopping behavior during Ramadan in Indonesia

Nearly all Muslims in Indonesia celebrated Ramadan in 2022. During the month of Ramadan, 60 percent of Indonesian users utilized online applications to order food. Many Indonesians planned to shop online or offline during Ramadan, with around 76 percent of online users planning to purchase fashion wear and accessories. Shopee was the most used app for shopping purposes during that period.

This statistic shows the estimated number of Muslims living in different European countries as of 2016. Approximately 5.72 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 4.95 million and 4.13 million respectively.

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.

In 2021, Muslims around the world spent a total of two 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 2.8 trillion dollars by 2025. The largest market for Muslim consumers is the halal food and beverage sector.

Islam and Christianity form the two dominant religions in Nigeria. Since colonialism, approximately 90 percent of the Nigerian people identify themselves as Islamic or Christian. The northern region of Nigeria is predominately Islamic, while the southern region is predominately Christian.

Nigeria’s contact with Islam predated that of Christianity and European colonialism; its spread was facilitated into Sub-Saharan Africa through trade and commerce. The northern part of Nigeria is symbolic to the history of Islam, as it penetrated the area through the Kanem-Borno Empire in the 11th century before spreading to other predominately Hausa states. Islam was then introduced into the traditional societies of the Yoruba-speaking people of south-west Nigeria through their established commercial relationship with people of the north, particularly the Nupe and Fulani.

Christianity reached Nigeria in the 15th century with the visitation of Catholic missionaries to the coastal areas of the Niger-Delta region. Christianity soon recorded a boost in the southern region given its opposition to the slave trade and its promotion of Western education.

The distinct religious divide has instigated violence in present-day Nigeria, including the Sharia riot in Kaduna in 2000, ongoing ethno-religious violence in Jos since 2001, and the 2011 post-election violence that erupted in some northern states, particularly in the city of Maiduguri. Nigerians’ continued loyalty to religion compared to that of the country continues to sustain major political debate, conflict, and violent outbreaks between populations of the two faiths.

ISO3-International Organization for Standardization 3-digit country code

NAME-Name of religious institution

TYPE-Type of religious institution

CITY-City religious institution is located in

SPA_ACC-Spatial accuracy of site location 1- high, 2 – medium, 3 - low

SOURCE_DT-Source creation date

SOURCE-Primary source

SOURCE2_DT-Secondary source creation date

SOURCE2-Secondary source

Collection

This HGIS was created using information collected from the web sites GCatholic.org, Islamic Finder, Wikimapia, and BBBike.org, which uses OpenStreetMap, a crowd-source collaboration project that geo-locates sites throughout the world. After collection, all education institutions were geo-located.

The data included herein have not been derived from a registered survey and should be considered approximate unless otherwise defined. While rigorous steps have been taken to ensure the quality of each dataset, DigitalGlobe Analytics is not responsible for the accuracy and completeness of data compiled from outside sources.

Sources (HGIS)

BBBike, "Nigeria." Last modified 2013. Accessed March 19, 2013. http://extract.bbbike.org.

GCatholic.org, "Catholic Churches in Federal Republic of Nigeria." Last modified 2013. Accessed April 4, 2013. http://www.gcatholic.org/.

Islamic Finder, "Nigeria." Last modified 2013. Accessed April 4, 2013. http://islamicfinder.org/.

Olanrewaju, Timothy. The Sun, "oko Haram attacks church in Maiduguri." Last modified 2013. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://sunnewsonline.com/.

Wikimapia, "Nigeria:Mosques/Churches." Last modified 2013. Accessed April 4, 2013. http://wikimapia.org/

World Watch Monitor, "Muslim Threat to Attack Church Raises Tensions." Last modified 2012. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/.

Sources (Metadata)

Danjibo, N.D. "Islamic Fundamentalism and Sectarian Violence: The "Maitatsine" and "Boko Haram" Crises in Northern Nigeria." manuscript., University of Ibadan, 2010. http://www.ifra-nigeria.org.

Olanrewaju, Timothy. The Sun, "oko Haram attacks church in Maiduguri." Last modified 2013. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://sunnewsonline.com/.

Onapajo, Hakeem. "Politics for God: Religion, Politics, and Conflict in Democratic Nigeria." Journal of Pan African Studies. 4. no. 9 (2012): 42-66. http://web.ebscohost.com (accessed March 26, 2013).

World Watch Monitor, "Muslim Threat to Attack Church Raises Tensions." Last modified 2012. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/.

According to a survey conducted in selected Middle Eastern countries in February to March 2022, 87 percent of all Muslim respondents were planning to donate money to charity during Ramadan. United Arab Emirates had the highest share of Muslim respondents who were planning to make donations at 97 percent each.

Abstract

The World Values Survey (www.worldvaluessurvey.org) is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life, led by an international team of scholars, with the WVS association and secretariat headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The survey, which started in 1981, seeks to use the most rigorous, high-quality research designs in each country. The WVS consists of nationally representative surveys conducted in almost 100 countries which contain almost 90 percent of the world’s population, using a common questionnaire. The WVS is the largest non-commercial, cross-national, time series investigation of human beliefs and values ever executed, currently including interviews with almost 400,000 respondents. Moreover the WVS is the only academic study covering the full range of global variations, from very poor to very rich countries, in all of the world’s major cultural zones. The WVS seeks to help scientists and policy makers understand changes in the beliefs, values and motivations of people throughout the world. Thousands of political scientists, sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists and economists have used these data to analyze such topics as economic development, democratization, religion, gender equality, social capital, and subjective well-being. These data have also been widely used by government officials, journalists and students, and groups at the World Bank have analyzed the linkages between cultural factors and economic development.

Geographic coverage

This survey covers the Philippines.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual

Universe

The WVS for the Philippines covers national population, aged 18 years and over, for both sexes.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample size for the Philippines is N=1200 and covers national population, aged 18 years and over, for both sexes.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Some special variable labels have been included, such as: V56 Neighbours: Muslims and V149 Institution: ASEAN. Special categories labels are: V167 Least liked groups: 1 stands for Muslims, 3 for Hard Lined Communists and 7 for Extreme Rightists. V179 Religion has many categories that have been recoded to 8 (Other) except for 4 (protestant) recoded to 2, 7 (Islam) recoded to 5, 19 (Pentecostal) recoded to 11 and 21 (Evangelist) recoded to 10. V203/ V204: Geographical affinity, 3 stands for ‘Philippines’ and 4 stands for ‘Asia’. Country Specific variables included are: V232 Size of the town is missing (but present in printed questionnaire); V208: Ethnic identification: 1. Hispano Filipino, 2. American Filipino 3. Chinese Filipino 4. Japanese Filipino, 5. Filipino then ethnic and 6. Ethnic then Filipino; V209: Language at home. The variables political parties V210 a V212; Ethic group: V 233; Region: V 234 and V235 Interview language are also included as country specific variables.

Sampling error estimates

+/- 2,9%

Abstract

The World Values Survey (www.worldvaluessurvey.org) is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life, led by an international team of scholars, with the WVS association and secretariat headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The survey, which started in 1981, seeks to use the most rigorous, high-quality research designs in each country. The WVS consists of nationally representative surveys conducted in almost 100 countries which contain almost 90 percent of the world’s population, using a common questionnaire. The WVS is the largest non-commercial, cross-national, time series investigation of human beliefs and values ever executed, currently including interviews with almost 400,000 respondents. Moreover the WVS is the only academic study covering the full range of global variations, from very poor to very rich countries, in all of the world’s major cultural zones. The WVS seeks to help scientists and policy makers understand changes in the beliefs, values and motivations of people throughout the world. Thousands of political scientists, sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists and economists have used these data to analyze such topics as economic development, democratization, religion, gender equality, social capital, and subjective well-being. These data have also been widely used by government officials, journalists and students, and groups at the World Bank have analyzed the linkages between cultural factors and economic development.

Geographic coverage

The survey covers Iran.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual

Universe

The WVS for Iran covers national population aged 16 years and over, for both sexes.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Because of the size and complexity of the survey population, multi-stage probability sampling methods are used to develop the sample frame for this study.

Stage 1: The total household population of Iran is divided into 28 strata based on the provincial boundariestwenty-seven provinces plus the province of Tehran. In each province, the household population is divided into urban and rural areas. And each urban and rural area is further divided into Census blocks. The SCI has detailed maps of all these urban and rural areas. These areas are divided into Census Enumeration Areas or blocks, which are the smallest geographically specified units. Each unit includes at least ten dwellings for the urban areas and at least one for the rural areas. A block is defined as an area where one can start enumeration from one point and go around the unit and return to the starting point. The size and the population density of these blocks vary. The number of these blocks and their distributions as urban versus rural areas also vary from province to province. In the 28 provinces, the blocks are sampled with probabilities proportionate to size measured in total dwelling units. In the 28 provinces, blocks are sampled in proportion to the total number of dwelling units. In metropolitan areas, where blocks fall into districts with varying socioeconomic status (high, medium, low), these areas are first stratified into homogeneous districts, and then blocks are sampled.

Stage 2: The second stage units of the surveys multi-stage sample design include individual dwelling units, in which respondents reside. The SCI has provided the list of all the dwelling units within each of the selected blocks. A random sample of dwellings units will be selected for contact from the listing for each block. The result will be about 3000 dwellings of which 1800 will be from urban and 1200 from rural areas. The table below shows the population size according to the 1996 Census and its distribution of the population in the urban and rural areas by provinces, the sampled Census blocks, and the share of the sample of households for the urban and rural areas of each province. A final adjustment of the sample size may be made according to the homogeneity or the heterogeneity of the area being sampled. The level of education and economic development are considered the major criteria for assessing the degree of homogeneity of the population.

Stage 3: A single respondent from each sample dwelling unit will be selected according to procedure specified in charts provided to the interviewers. There were three differences between the 2000 and 2005 samples. First, in 2000 sample, the interviewers were not able to get to the provinces of Sistan va Baluchistan and Kurdistan. But in 2005 these provinces were surveyed. Second, in the 2005 the province of Kurdistan was oversampled to allow comparison with Iraqi Kurds. Third, the number of province ware increased to thirty-one in 2005.

The sample size for Iran is N=2667 and includes the national population aged 16 years and over for both sexes.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The WVS questionnaire was translated into Persian from the English questionnaire by a member of the research team. The translated questionnaire was also pre-tested. The questionnaire was administered to 200 individuals. In 2005 survey, no question was omitted.

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.

Negative binomial model of the relationship between ethnic religion interaction and male fertility (All MEN aged 15–59 years).

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.

In 2023, approximately 244.4 million people in Indonesia identified as Muslims. Indonesia has the largest Islamic population in the world. However, it is a multi-faith country and officially recognizes six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

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.

According to the population census data in 2010, 54.14 percent of the population in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia were Catholics. East Nusa Tenggara is the province with the least Muslim population in Indonesia. Indonesia has the largest Islamic population in the world. However, Indonesia is a multi-faith country that recognizes six official religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

The Hajj to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is considered the world’s largest human gathering with almost 1.84 million pilgrims in 2023. 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 58.7 thousand in 2021. Like other religious pilgrimages, Hajj is considered an annual rite of passage to renew ones 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 22.45 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 2021, around 86.8 percent of the population in Bali were Hindus. Indonesia has the largest Islamic population in the world and therefore the largest Muslim nation. However, Indonesia is not a Muslim nation by constitution. The archipelago has six official religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.