{"id":72329,"date":"2015-04-02T12:40:40","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T17:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2015\/04\/02\/number-of-muslims-worldwide-expected-to-nearly-equal-number-of-christians-by-2050-religiously-unaffiliated-will-make-up-declining-share-of-worlds-population\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:13:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:13:26","slug":"number-of-muslims-worldwide-expected-to-nearly-equal-number-of-christians-by-2050-religiously-unaffiliated-will-make-up-declining-share-of-worlds-population","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2015\/04\/02\/number-of-muslims-worldwide-expected-to-nearly-equal-number-of-christians-by-2050-religiously-unaffiliated-will-make-up-declining-share-of-worlds-population\/","title":{"rendered":"Number of Muslims Worldwide Expected to Nearly Equal Number of Christians by 2050; Religiously Unaffiliated Will Make Up Declining Share of World\u2019s Population"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media Contact: Katherine Ritchey, Communications Manager<\/em>\n202-419-4372, kritchey@pewresearch.org <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Washington, <\/strong>April 2, 2015<\/strong> \u2014\u00a0The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world\u2019s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades, Christians will continue to make up the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion. If current demographic trends continue, by 2050 the number of Muslims around the world (2.8 billion, or 30% of the population) will nearly equal the number of Christians (2.9 billion, or 31%), possibly for the first time in history.<\/p>\n\n

With the exception of Buddhists, all of the world\u2019s major religious groups are poised for at least some growth in absolute numbers in the coming decades. Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion \u2013 though also increasing in absolute numbers \u2013 will make up a declining <\/em>share<\/em> of the world\u2019s total population.<\/p>\n\n

These are among the global religious trends highlighted in new demographic projections by the Pew Research Center. \u00a0The research, report and an interactive website, www.globalreligiousfutures.org<\/a>, are part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, a multi-year effort jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation to analyze religious change and its impact on societies around the world.<\/p>\n\n

The\u00a0new report<\/a>\u00a0on the demographic projections explores expected changes from 2010 to 2050 in the size and geographic distribution of eight major religious groups: Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, adherents of folk religions, adherents of other religions and the unaffiliated.<\/p>\n\n

While many people have offered predictions about the future of religion, these are the first formal demographic projections using data on age, fertility, mortality, migration and religious switching for multiple religious groups around the world.<\/p>\n\n

In addition to making projections at the global level, the report projects religious change in nearly 200 countries and territories and looks at how religious composition is likely to change from 2010 to 2050 in six different regions of the world.<\/p>\n\n

The projections find that, if current trends continue, by 2050:<\/p>\n\n