Religious freedom statistics show two distinct realities: restrictions imposed by governments and hostility involving private individuals or groups. In 2023, Pew Research Center rated 198 countries and territories, finding elevated government restrictions in 58 and elevated social hostilities involving religion in 55.
Table of contents
- The global 2023 snapshot
- How the two indexes work
- Long-run changes in restrictions
- Where religious harassment was reported
- Physical harassment and regional patterns
- Country examples from the 2023 indexes
The global 2023 snapshot
Pew Research Center’s 2023 assessment covered 198 countries and territories. It uses two measures: the Government Restrictions Index, which tracks restrictions imposed by governments, and the Social Hostilities Index, which tracks religion-related hostility by private individuals, groups and organizations. The measures are separate, so a country can have a different result on each one.
The global median Social Hostilities Index score was 1.6 out of 10 in 2023. The global median Government Restrictions Index score was 3.0 out of 10. A median describes the middle country or territory in the analysis; it is not a population-weighted global average.
The distribution of results provides more context:
- 94 countries and territories had low social hostilities involving religion.
- 49 had moderate social hostilities.
- 55 had high or very high social hostilities.
- 58 had high or very high government restrictions on religion.
- 25 countries had very high government restrictions.
The 55 countries with high or very high social hostilities and the 58 with high or very high government restrictions should not be added together. The groups may overlap, and the two indexes measure different kinds of conditions. These figures describe the countries and territories included in the 2023 assessment, not the share of the world’s population living under each condition.
Source: More Countries Had Elevated Levels of Social Hostilities Involving Religion in 2023, Pew Research Center.
How the two indexes work
Both Pew indexes use a 0.0-to-10.0 scale, but their category thresholds differ. That matters when interpreting a score near a boundary. A higher score indicates more restrictions or hostilities within the relevant measure; it does not mean that every religious group experienced the same events.
| Index | Low | Moderate | High | Very high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Restrictions Index | 0.0–2.3 | 2.4–4.4 | 4.5–6.5 | 6.6–10.0 |
| Social Hostilities Index | 0.0–1.4 | 1.5–3.5 | 3.6–7.1 | 7.2–10.0 |
For the Government Restrictions Index, Pew classifies scores from 0.0 to 2.3 as low, 2.4 to 4.4 as moderate, 4.5 to 6.5 as high and 6.6 to 10.0 as very high. For the Social Hostilities Index, scores from 0.0 to 1.4 are low, 1.5 to 3.5 are moderate, 3.6 to 7.1 are high and 7.2 to 10.0 are very high.
These categories are useful for reading religious freedom statistics without treating a single number as a complete description of religious life. Government restrictions may include laws, policies or official actions. Social hostilities concern actions and tensions involving nonstate actors. The index scores summarize the measurement framework; they do not establish that religious freedom is identical across every community within a country.
Source: More Countries Had Elevated Levels of Social Hostilities Involving Religion in 2023, Pew Research Center.
Long-run changes in restrictions
The available historical figures show that the global median levels have changed over the study period. In 2007, the global median Social Hostilities Index score was 1.0 out of 10, while the global median Government Restrictions Index score was 1.8. The social-hostilities median reached 2.0 in 2012 and a study-period peak of 2.1 in 2017. By 2023, the corresponding social-hostilities median was 1.6, and the government-restrictions median was 3.0.
Pew also reported changes in the number of countries and territories with high or very high scores. In 2019, 43 countries and territories had high or very high social hostilities, compared with 57 that had high or very high government restrictions. In 2020, the figures were 40 for social hostilities and 57 for government restrictions.
| Measurement | Earlier period | Value | 2023 value where supplied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global median Social Hostilities Index | 2007 | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Global median Government Restrictions Index | 2007 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
| Global median Social Hostilities Index | 2012 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
| Global median Social Hostilities Index | 2017 peak | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Countries with high or very high social hostilities | 2019 | 43 | 55 |
| Countries with high or very high government restrictions | 2019 | 57 | 58 |
The 2007, 2012 and 2017 figures are historical measurements, while the 2023 figures describe the latest period represented in the supplied Pew findings. The data does not by itself explain why a score changed or show how conditions changed for a particular religious community. It is also important not to interpret the shift in a global median as a direct count of people affected.
Source: Global median levels of social hostilities and government restrictions involving religion remained steady in 2023, Pew Research Center. The 2019 and 2020 country counts are from More Countries Had Elevated Levels of Social Hostilities Involving Religion in 2023.
Where religious harassment was reported
The 2023 harassment data measures whether harassment was reported, not how many incidents occurred or how many people were affected. Pew found that religious groups faced government and/or private-actor harassment in 192 countries and territories in 2023. Governments harassed people because of religious beliefs or practices in 185 countries, while private individuals, groups or organizations did so in 175 countries. Both governments and social actors engaged in religious harassment in 168 countries.
For comparison, religion-related harassment was reported in 152 countries and territories in 2007. The difference between the 2007 and 2023 figures should be read as a comparison of reported country-level conditions under the study’s methodology. It is not an estimate of the number of incidents, severity or population exposure, and it does not mean that every type of harassment occurred in every country counted.
At least one type of physical harassment against religious groups occurred in 151 countries and territories in 2023. Within that broader measure, physical harassment by governments affected religious groups in 110 countries, while physical harassment by nongovernmental actors affected religious groups in 115 countries.
The counts overlap. For example, a country can appear in both the government and nongovernmental categories, and a country with one type of physical harassment may also have other forms of harassment. These statistics therefore describe the breadth of countries reporting a condition, rather than a ranking of overall danger.
Source: Harassment of religious groups around the world in 2023, Pew Research Center.
Physical harassment and regional patterns
Property damage involving religious groups was reported in 120 countries and territories globally in 2023. The regional counts were 16 countries in the Americas, 29 in the Asia-Pacific region, 35 in Europe, 15 in the Middle East-North Africa region and 25 in sub-Saharan Africa.
Physical assaults involving religious groups were reported in 96 countries and territories globally. The regional counts were 11 in the Americas, 25 in Asia-Pacific, 25 in Europe, 13 in the Middle East-North Africa region and 22 in sub-Saharan Africa.
Detentions involving religious groups were reported in 89 countries and territories globally. The regional counts were 8 in the Americas, 30 in Asia-Pacific, 10 in Europe, 17 in the Middle East-North Africa region and 24 in sub-Saharan Africa.
| Type of reported physical harassment | Global | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East-North Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property damage | 120 | 16 | 29 | 35 | 15 | 25 |
| Physical assaults | 96 | 11 | 25 | 25 | 13 | 22 |
| Detentions | 89 | 8 | 30 | 10 | 17 | 24 |
Regional figures are country counts, not rates. They should not be compared as though each region had the same number of countries, population or reporting environment. The categories also overlap: a country can be counted for property damage, assaults and detentions in the same year. The figures show where each type was reported during 2023, not the frequency of incidents within each country.
Source: Harassment of religious groups around the world in 2023, Pew Research Center.
Country examples from the 2023 indexes
Country-level scores illustrate why both measures are needed. On the Government Restrictions Index in 2023, Afghanistan scored 8.7 out of 10 and China scored 9.1, both within the very high category. India scored 6.4, which falls within the high category, while the United States scored 2.1, within the low category.
On the Social Hostilities Index, India scored 8.8 and Bangladesh scored 7.8, both very high. Brazil scored 4.7, which is high, while the United States scored 1.3, which is low.
| Country | Government Restrictions Index | Category | Social Hostilities Index | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 8.7 | Very high | — | Not supplied |
| China | 9.1 | Very high | — | Not supplied |
| India | 6.4 | High | 8.8 | Very high |
| Bangladesh | — | Not supplied | 7.8 | Very high |
| Brazil | — | Not supplied | 4.7 | High |
| United States | 2.1 | Low | 1.3 | Low |
The table includes only the country scores supplied for each index; a dash does not mean that the country had no restrictions or hostilities. It means that a score for that index was not supplied here. The examples also show that government restrictions and social hostilities can produce different profiles. India’s government-restrictions score was high, while its social-hostilities score was very high. The United States was low on both measures in the 2023 scores listed above.
Sources: Government restrictions on religion around the world in 2023 and Social hostilities involving religion around the world in 2023, Pew Research Center.
When reading religious freedom statistics, keep the unit of measurement in view: index scores summarize levels, while harassment figures count countries and territories where a condition was reported. Neither type of statistic alone describes every believer’s experience, but together they show how government policy, social hostility and physical harassment can be tracked across places and periods.