A recent study by the Pew Research Center has revealed that Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion. The study, which analyzed data from 2010 to 2020, highlights significant demographic shifts that are altering the global religious landscape.
The Muslim population experienced a remarkable surge, increasing by 347 million people to reach 2 billion. This growth rate surpassed that of any other major religious group, including Christianity, which grew by 122 million to 2.3 billion. However, Christianity's share of the global population declined from 30.6% to 28.8%, while Islam's share rose from 23.9% to 25.6%. This indicates that the growth in the number of Christians was outpaced by overall population growth and by those leaving the faith.
The religiously unaffiliated, often referred to as "nones," also saw substantial growth, increasing by 300 million to 1.9 billion, representing 24.2% of the global population. This makes them the third-largest group behind Christians and Muslims. Buddhism was the only religious group analyzed that experienced a decrease in absolute numbers, declining by 19 million people to 324 million.
Several factors contribute to the rapid growth of the Muslim population. Higher birth rates are a primary driver, with Muslim women having an average of 2.9 children each from 2015 to 2020, compared to 2.2 children for non-Muslim women. Additionally, the Muslim population is younger, with a median age of 24 in 2020, nine years younger than the median age for non-Muslims. This youthful demographic structure suggests that the Muslim share of the global population will likely continue to increase.
Conversion plays a negligible role in Muslim population growth. Studies estimate that approximately 1% of those raised Muslim leave the faith, a figure offset by a similar number joining Islam. Therefore, the growth stems almost entirely from natural demographic trends.
Regionally, the Muslim population has increased across the globe. The highest growth rate occurred in North America, where the Muslim population increased by 52% to 5.9 million in 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa followed, with a 34% increase to 369 million. The Asia-Pacific region, home to the largest Muslim population, saw a 16.2% increase. In contrast, the Latin America-Caribbean region experienced a slower growth rate of 6%, which was less than the region's non-Muslim population growth of 10%.
The ten countries with the largest Muslim populations are home to 65% of the world's total Muslim population. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population, with approximately 240 million Muslims, representing about 12% of the global Muslim population. Pakistan and India also have substantial Muslim populations.
These demographic trends highlight the evolving nature of the global religious landscape. As the Muslim population continues to grow at a rapid pace, the gap between the number of Muslims and Christians worldwide is shrinking. According to an earlier Pew Research Center report from 2017, Islam is projected to potentially become the largest religion globally by 2075.
