Religious diversity statistics show a world shaped by several large traditions, growing religious disaffiliation in some countries, and very different regional patterns. In 2020, Christians made up 28.8% of the global population, Muslims 25.6%, and religiously unaffiliated people 24.2%, according to Pew Research Center’s Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2020. The figures below distinguish global estimates for 2020 from later national survey and census results.
Contents
- Global religious composition in 2020
- Where religious groups are concentrated
- Countries with the highest and lowest measured diversity
- Majorities and change from 2010 to 2020
- Religious diversity in the United States
- Religious diversity in England and Wales
Global religious composition in 2020
Pew Research Center’s 2020 global estimates place Christianity as the largest religious affiliation, but only by a modest margin over Islam and religious non-affiliation. Christians represented 28.8% of the world’s population. Muslims represented 25.6%, while people who identified as religiously unaffiliated represented 24.2%. Hindus accounted for 14.9%, Buddhists for 4.1%, and people in the category of “other religions” for 2.2%. Jewish people represented less than 1% of the global population. These are global shares for 2020, not current-year measurements.
The decade from 2010 to 2020 saw movement in the two largest global shares. The Christian share fell from 30.6% in 2010 to 28.8% in 2020. The Muslim share rose from 23.9% to 25.6% over the same period. The source’s country-by-country estimates use broad affiliation categories, so the figures describe population composition rather than the intensity or practice of belief. Source: Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2020.
| Group | Share of world population, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Christians | 28.8% |
| Muslims | 25.6% |
| Religiously unaffiliated | 24.2% |
| Hindus | 14.9% |
| Buddhists | 4.1% |
| Other religions | 2.2% |
| Jewish people | Less than 1% |
Where religious groups are concentrated
Global totals can hide strong regional concentration. In 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa contained 30.7% of the world’s Christians, compared with 22.3% in Europe. The region’s share of the world’s total population was 14.3%, up from 12.3% in 2010. That population context matters: a region can contain a large share of a religious group without that group representing a majority of the region’s residents.
The Asia-Pacific region contained 59% of the world’s Muslims in 2020, as well as 99% of the world’s Hindus and 98% of the world’s Buddhists. It also contained 78% of the world’s religiously unaffiliated people and 65% of people classified as belonging to other religions. These percentages refer to the worldwide distribution of each group, not to the percentage of Asia-Pacific residents in each category.
Jewish populations were concentrated mainly in two regions in the same 2020 estimates. The Middle East-North Africa region contained 45.9% of the world’s Jewish population, while North America contained 41.2%. The Middle East-North Africa region accounted for 5.6% of the world’s total population in 2020, up from 5.1% in 2010. Source for these regional figures: The World’s Religious Groups: How Their Sizes Changed from 2010 to 2020.
Countries with the highest and lowest measured diversity
Pew Research Center’s Religious Diversity Index measures how evenly a country’s population is distributed across religious groups, on a 0-to-10 scale. It is a measure of composition, not a judgment about religious freedom, tolerance, or the quality of interfaith relationships.
Singapore had the highest score in the 2020 index, at 9.3. Its population was 31% Buddhist, 20% religiously unaffiliated, 19% Christian, 16% Muslim, 5% Hindu, and 9% in other religions. Suriname ranked second, with Christians at 53%, Hindus at 22%, Muslims at 13%, and the unaffiliated at 8%.
Other high-scoring examples included South Korea at 7.3 and France at 6.9. France’s 2020 population was 46% Christian, 43% religiously unaffiliated, and 9% Muslim. The United States scored 5.8. These values are index results for 2020 and should not be read as estimates for later years.
At the other end of the scale, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somalia were the three least religiously diverse places in the 2020 index; Muslims made up at least 99.8% of each population. Among the 10 most populous countries, the United States ranked first for religious diversity and Nigeria second. Pakistan ranked last in that group, with Muslims accounting for 97% of residents. Across those 10 countries, scores ranged from 5.8 in the United States to 0.8 in Pakistan. Source: Religious Diversity Around the World as of 2020.
| 2020 comparison | Religious Diversity Index or reported composition |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 9.3 |
| South Korea | 7.3 |
| France | 6.9 |
| United States | 5.8 |
| Pakistan, among 10 most populous countries | 0.8 |
Majorities and change from 2010 to 2020
Christians were a majority in 120 countries and territories in 2020, down from 124 in 2010. Religiously unaffiliated people were a majority in 10 countries and territories, up from seven. Muslims were the majority in 53 countries and territories in both years. Buddhists were the majority in seven in both years, while people belonging to other religions were the majority in one country or territory in both years.
By 2020, the unaffiliated were a majority in the Netherlands at 54%, Uruguay at 52%, and New Zealand at 51%. Christians fell below half of the population in the United Kingdom at 49%, Australia at 47%, France at 46%, and Uruguay at 44%. These percentages describe the 2020 country estimates in the cited global comparison and use the source’s affiliation categories.
The Christian share fell by at least 5 percentage points in 41 countries between 2010 and 2020. Mozambique was the only country where the Christian share rose substantially in that comparison, increasing by 5 percentage points. Religiously unaffiliated people gained at least 5 percentage points in 35 countries. Source: The World’s Religious Groups: How Their Sizes Changed from 2010 to 2020.
Religious diversity in the United States
The Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study found that 62% of U.S. adults identified as Christian. Protestants accounted for 40%, Catholics for 19%, Latter-day Saints for 2%, and Orthodox Christians for 1%. The same study found that 29% of U.S. adults were religiously unaffiliated: 5% atheist, 6% agnostic, and 19% nothing in particular. Source: U.S. adults | Religious Landscape Study.
The unaffiliated share has grown across the comparable Pew survey points: 16% in 2007, 23% in 2014, and 29% in 2023-24. The share identifying with a religion other than Christianity rose from 4.7% in 2007 to 7.1% in 2023-24. In 2023-24, 1.7% identified as Jewish, 1.2% as Muslim, 1.1% as Buddhist, and 0.9% as Hindu. Source: Religious identity in the United States.
The study also shows change within Protestant identification. In 2023-24, 23% of U.S. adults identified as evangelical Protestant, down from 26% in 2007. Mainline Protestants represented 11%, down from 18% in 2007. These results are survey estimates of U.S. adults, so they are not directly interchangeable with the 2020 global population estimates or the Religious Diversity Index.
Background is associated with different patterns in the same study. In 2023-24, 14% of U.S. immigrants identified with a non-Christian religion, compared with 6% of U.S.-born respondents. This comparison concerns respondent identity and does not measure religious practice or congregational participation.
Religious diversity in England and Wales
The 2021 England and Wales census recorded 46.2% of residents as Christian, equal to 27.5 million people. A further 37.2%, or 22.2 million people, reported no religion. The Christian share fell from 59.3% in 2011 to 46.2% in 2021, while the no-religion share rose from 25.2% to 37.2%.
Other affiliations also changed. In 2021, Muslims represented 6.5% of residents, or 3.9 million people, up from 4.9% and 2.7 million in 2011. Hindus represented 1.7%, or 1.0 million people, up from 1.5% and 818,000 in 2011. The detailed census classification identified 58 religious groups. Source: Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021.
Regional differences within England and Wales were substantial. In 2021, London had 25.3% of residents reporting a religion other than Christian, compared with 4.2% in the North East and 3.2% in the South West. London’s population was 40.7% Christian, 15.0% Muslim, and 5.1% Hindu. These are census results for England and Wales in 2021, with London shown as a regional comparison.