Muslims are the fastest growing religion in the world and form the second largest religious group globally. A report of Pew’s Global Religious Landscape Study released on 9th June analysed the changes in the populations of religious groups at the global level between 2010 and 2020. The study revealed that the number of Muslims have increased sharply around the world while the populations of all other religions, including Hindus, registered a decline.
As per the study, the Muslim population grew by 347 million, which is more than the combined increase in the populations of all other religions.
Globally, the number of Muslims grew 21% in 10 years, increasing from 1.7 billion to 2.0 billion. The study says that the number of Muslims grew twice as fast as the population of the rest of the world which grew by 10% during the same time period. Consequently, the share of Muslims in the world population increased from 24% to 26%.
Notably, after Christians and Muslims, the third largest group in the world is the group of religiously unaffiliated people. Hindus are in 4th position with 15% share.
Muslim population increased across all regions globally
Considered regionwise, the research indicates that the Muslim population expanded across all geographic regions with varied percentage of increase. North Amercia witnessed the highest rate of gowth of its Muslim population, which spiked by 52%. This was followed by sub-Saharan Africa, where the Muslim population reached 369 million in 2020 after increasing by 34%. The share of Muslims in the population of the region is 33%.
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The rate of Muslim growth was the highest in North America, where Muslims numbered 5.9 million in 2020 (up 52%), followed by sub-Saharan Africa, where Muslims grew to 369 million (up 34%). According to the study, the Muslim population increased by highest rate in every region with one exception of the Latin-America-Carribean region. In this region, though the Muslim population registerd an increase of 6%, it was surpassed by the region’s non-Muslim population growth of 10%.
Notably, the share of Muslims in the population of the Asia-Pacific rose up to 26% in 2020, rising up by 1.4%. However, the concentration of Muslims has decreased by 2%, going down from 61% in 2010 to 59% in 2020. The Pew study claims that since 2010, the Muslim population has slightly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, which now accomodates 18% of the world’s Muslims, increasing by 2%.
A third of Muslims live in India, Pakistan and Indonesia
The study shows that one-third of Muslims in the world live in the three countries of India, Pakistan and Indonesia. Around 213 million of Muslims live in India as of 2020, making up to 15% of the country’s population. India lies slightly behind Indonesia, with the latter accomodating around 240 million of Muslims as of 2020, accounting for 12% of the world’s Muslims. Around 65% of the world’s Muslim population lives in 10 countries, including India. 1.3 billion of Muslims live in these 10 countries. In nine of these countries, Islam forms the majority religion with the only exception of India.
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5 countries where Muslim population changed substantially
The population of Muslims experienced significant changes in the five countries of Kazakhstan, Benin, Lebanon, Oman, and Tanzania. Out of the five countries, three (Kazakhstan, Benin, Lebanon) registered a significant increase in the population of Muslims. In Kazakhstan, the Muslim population grew by 8.2%, in Benin by 7.9% and in Lebanon by 5.5%. In Oman and Tanzania, the Muslim population registered a decrese of 8.3% and 5.5% respectively.
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In all five countries, the changes in the Muslim population were mostly caused by migration. In some of these countries, the increase resulted from non-Muslims moving out of the countries, while in the others, the increase happened due to influx of Muslim refugees. Several countries in Europe, witnessed an increase in their Muslim population because of immigration and above average fertility rate among Muslims. However, the change in the share of Muslim population in these countries remained below 5%.
Christians remained the largest religious group globally, their population decreased over the last decade. Number of Christians rose by 122 million and reached 2.3 billion, but their share in the world’s population fell by 1.8% marking their share at 28.8%.
The population of Hindus declined globally including in India
According to the Pew study, the share of Hindu population registered a slight decline, though less than 5%, in four countries of the South Asian region viz. India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, the share of Hindus did not register any significant increase or decrease in any country or region.
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Hindus form the fourth largest religious group in the world after Christians, Muslims and religiously unaffiliated people. Viewed in the global context, the number of Hindus increased by 12% between 2010 and 2020, rising from abroud 1.1 billion to around 1.2 billion. But, their share in the world population registered a slight decline from 15.0% in 2010 to 14.9% in 2020. Since the rate of growth of non-Hindus remained about the same, Hindus, as a share of the global population, remained stable.
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Around 99% of the world’s Hindus live in the Asia-Pacific region and constitute the largest religious group in India, Nepal and Mauritius.
As per the research, the population of Hindus increased sharply, by 62%, in the Middle East-North Africa region, in the last decade. Around 3.2 million Hindus are currently living in the Middle East-North Africa region. Hindu population in North America also rose by 55% in the same decade, reaching 3.6 million. The study says that the regions, such as the United Arab Emirates and Europe, which saw a faster rate of increase in the Hindu population, was primarily due to migration of Hindus to these regions for economic opportunities.
The geographic concentration of Hindus experienced a slight change between 2010 and 2020. The number of Hindus living in Asia-Pacific region dropped by 0.2%, while the population of Hindus living in North America and the Middle East-North Africa region rose by 0.1%.
Muslims grew by 43.15% between 1950 and 2015: Study
Similar to the global scenario, the Muslim population has registered an increase in India as well. According to a study titled, Share of Religious Minorities – A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015), released in May 2024, revealed that the population of Muslims witnessed a sharp increase of 43.15% between 1950 and 2015 while the population of Hindus declined by 7.85. The populations of Christians and Sikhs also dropped by 5.38% and 6.58% respectively. According to the study, the share of Hindus in India’s population saw a decrease from 84% in 1950 to 78% in 2015, while that of Muslims witnessed an increase from 9.84% to 14.09% in the same period.
Notably, in India’s neighbouring countries where Muslims (or their sect) constitute more than 50% – a majority, the community’s share witnessed an increase in the demographic mix. Bangladesh saw the steepest increase of 18.5%, followed by Pakistan (3.75%) and Afghanistan (0.29%).
As per the fifth National Family Health Survey report released in May 2022, the total fertility rate (TFR) is highest among the Muslims. While the country’s TFR has declined over the years, decreasing from 3.4 to 2.0 children between 1992-93 and 2019-21, the TFR among the Muslim community was recorded at 2.36. The lowest TFR of 4.1 children per women was found among the Buddhists/Neo-Buddhists.
Furthermore, the report also revealed that teen pregnancy was more common among Muslim women aged 15 to 19 years (8%) than among other religious groups. Also, when it comes to the desire for another kid, Muslims have the lowest percentage of women who do not want another child. 72% of Sikhs and 71% of Hindus presently married women aged 15-49 prefer no additional children, compared to 64% of Muslim currently married women.
