This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Global Religion, By The Numbers
Worldwide, more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group. A comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life estimates that there are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84% of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion. These five charts sum up the age, size, geography, and power of the world's major religions.
The study by the Pew Forum also finds that roughly one-in-six people around the globe (1.1 billion, or 16%) have no religious affiliation. This makes the unaffiliated the third-largest religious group worldwide, behind Christians and Muslims, and about equal in size to the world’s Catholic population.
The geographic distribution of religious groups varies considerably. A plurality of Jews (44%) live in North America, while about four-in-ten (41%) live in the Middle East and North Africa – almost all of them in Israel.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the world’s people live in countries in which their religious group makes up a majority of the population. Most members of the other major religious groups live in countries in which they are in the minority. Seven-in-ten Buddhists (72%), for example, live as religious minorities.
Muslims are a majority in 49 countries, including 19 of the 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The religiously unaffiliated make up a majority of the population in six countries, of which China is by far the largest. (The others are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hong Kong, Japan and North Korea.)
Some religions have much younger populations, on average, than others. In part, the age differences reflect the geographic distribution of religious groups. Those with a large share of adherents in fast-growing, developing countries tend to have younger populations. Those concentrated in China and in advanced industrial countries, where population growth is slower, tend to be older. The median age of two major groups – Muslims (23 years) and Hindus (26) – is younger than the median age of the world’s overall population (28)
Source: Pew Forum
»
- 28350 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
8 in 10 identify with a religion yet I suspect the 80/20 rule applies here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/world/asia/thai-buddhist-monks-struggle-to-stay-relevant.html?_r=0&gwh=73CC543785E1814C8A672855984CF786
Monks Lose Relevance as Thailand Grows Richer
“Consumerism is now the Thai religion,” said Phra Paisan Visalo, one of the country’s most respected monks. “In the past, people went to temple on every holy day. Now, they go to shopping malls.”
'Americanism' gaining ground everywhere...
Chinese Citizenism hypocritizens soiling ground everywhere.
I like to hug trees
'Americanism' is the relevant thing these days...
AnAnonymousitizenism is the irrelevant thing these days, the hobboism of the intellect, the unmatteringest stuff...
You have indeed digged down to the core of the issue, the very crustiest bit of the coronary organism of the matter.
But when inability to self-ignite is at the hand, when farming of the poor sweatshop worker and extorting of the weak female fetus is under discussion, expect nothing but self-denialings and offuscationalism from Chicom trollery.
"Affiliate" with a church or Synagogue or Mosque etc, etc. vs affiliate with a "diety".
In order to worship the diety of your choice in any religion requires WORK to get up to him or his or her level. The Jews don't even have the Temple to worship in as they see by tradition they should, without asking the question, "since our Temple no longer exists, maybe God doesn't want us to worship in this way any longer." (Jeremiah 31:33 hint, hint)
Xianity of the New Covenant with Israel cannot be measured with your charts & graphs because it requires no work, no affiliation. Jesus simply said "follow Me", and "what is the work of God but to believe?" and "wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst".
Czech Republic jews majority? eh? really? that was a joke???
Yes, they are the majority; but only in media, banking and the 3 branches of government.
Not Jewish... They're "unafilliated".
What's up with the Czech Republic and Estonia? Looks like another crusade is in order...
religious dogmatic progression is a measure of human chronological regression.
Its interesting to see the Papal strategy is now mainly concentrated on third world.
The muslim word has a rendezvous with its enlightenment age and it will come through the female gender.
spirituality and dogma; big difference. ENquiry and certitude. The only certitude is we end up dead. The rest is metaphysics.
Sorry religious people, I usually never say anything negative about religion, but I find this a little depressing. I thought we were closer to being done with believing in gods than this, but only 16% of us are. So, I guess I am gonna have to put up with a lot of people being manipulated through their faith for a lot more time.
I wonder if Israel's Messiah is the same one the nuns told me about?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFr4C2BPLeM
And this Jewish God of the Old Book - is he really the same as the guy presented in the New Book?
http://maxblumenthal.com/2011/07/inside-torat-hamelech-the-jewish-extremist-terror-tract/