The State of Religious Diversity

The most popular religions in
the world…

In 2050, the world is
expected to become more religious – not less. Here’s how world’s major global religions are changing and what we can look forward to.

1. Muslims are the fastest-growing
major religious group. 2. The regional distribution of christians is forecast to change significantly. 3. 'Religious nones' are decreasing as a share of the world’s population. 4. Buddhists will decline as a share of the world’s population.

1. MUSLIMS ARE THE FASTEST-GROWING
MAJOR RELIGIOUS GROUP.

Projected change in global Christian
and Muslim populations

Muslims are expected to grow
twice as fast as other religions, primarily due to higher fertility rates.

At mid-century, Muslims will nearly
equal Christians – the world’s largest group – in size.

India is expected to be
the country with the largest number of Muslims – more than 310 Million. FIND OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR COMMUNITY

2. THE REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF
CHRISTIANS IS F ORECAST TO CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY.

Global share of Christians by
Region, 1910 - 2050

Four in ten Christians are
projected to live in sub- Saharan Africa in 2050.

In 1910, Europe was home
to roughly 66% of the world’s Christians, with North America a distant second with 15%. In 2050, Christians living in Europe will continue to decline to 16% and only 10% will be living in North America.

The share of people who
say they are Christian is expec ted to drop to 65% in 2050, compared to 75% in 2010.

3. 'RELIGIOUS NONES' ARE D
ECREASING AS A SHARE OF T HE WORLD’S POPULATION.

Projected change in the unaffiliated
population, 2010 - 2050

By 2050, unaffiliated population is
expected to exceed 1.2 Billion.

In the United States, the
unaffiliated are projected to grow from an estimated 16% in 2010 to 26% in 2050.

Globally, the unaffiliated are expected
to decrease as a share of the world’s population between 16% in 2010 to 13% in 2050.

4. BUDDHISTS WILL DECLINE AS
A SHARE OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION.

Projected compound annual growth rates
for Buddhist Between Five Year Periods

Buddhist are expected to have
a stable population of just under 500 Million. TAKE A COMMUNITY SURVEY TODAY!

In 2010, half of the
world's Buddhists lived in China though only about 1 in 5 were Buddhist. The proportion is expected to remain steady at around 18% between 2010 to 2050.

Unites States is expected to
go from having the 13th largest Buddhist population in 2010 to the 10th largest Buddhist population in 2050.

Let’s connect! LET’S CONNECT! Source:
Pew Research