WASHINGTON - An estimated 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages live in the world today, representing 23 percent of the global population of 6.8 billion, according to a new study of more than 200 countries.
India is estimated to have the third largest Muslim population of over 160 million after Indonesia with more than 200 million and Pakistan with nearly 175 million.
“The new study is based on the best available data for 232 countries and territories,” said the Forum on Religion and Public Life, a unit of leading US-based think tank Pew Research Centre, which conducted the study.
“Previously published estimates of the size of the global Muslim population have ranged widely from 1 billion to 1.8 billion,” said the centre, which analysed over 1,500 sources, including census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys.
The key findings of the study, released here late Wednesday, are:
-India has the third-largest population of Muslims worldwide
-China has more Muslims than Syria
-Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined.
-While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60 percent of the global Muslim population is in Asia
-Middle east and North Africa account for 20 percent of the Muslim population
-The Middle East-North Africa region has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries
-More than half of the 20 countries and territories in Middle East-North Africa region have populations that are approximately 95 percent Muslim or greater
-More than 300 million Muslims, or one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population, live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion
-These minority Muslim populations are often quite large
-Of the total Muslim population, 10-13 percent are Shias and 87-90 percent are Sunnis Muslims.
-Most Shias, between 68-80 percent, live in just four countries, namely Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq
The new report has an executive summary, maps and charts to illustrate the geographic distribution of Muslims, explanations of the study’s methodologies and a list of data sources by country.
According to the study, Indonesia accounts for the largest number of Muslims with 202.87 million, or 88.2 percent of the country’s population, followed by Pakistan with 174.08 million, or 96.3 percent of the population.
India is home to 160.95 million, representing 13.4 percent of the country’s population, or 10.3 percent of their global numbers. India also tops the list of countries with the largest number of Muslims living in any country as a minority community.
Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey Algeria and Morocco, in that order, make up the 10 countries with the largest population of Muslims going by the sheer numbers.
Related News
Climate-change adaptation to cost $75-90 bn: World BankSeptember 30th, 2009 BANGKOK - Climate-change adaptation is likely to cost developing countries $75-90 billion annually from 2010 to 2050, according to a study released Wednesday by the World Bank. Based on an assumption that global temperatures would rise at least two degrees Celsius over the next four decades, adaptation costs for the developing world in such sectors as infrastructure "climate proofing" are to cost $75-90 billion a year, the bank said on the sidelines of UN climate-change talks being held this week and next in Bangkok.
26th International Population Congress opens in MoroccoSeptember 28th, 2009 MARRAKECH - The 26th International Population Congress has opened here to discuss population related problems, migration and the economic crisis, among others. Over 2,000 demographers from 114 countries attended the five-day meeting that started Sunday to discuss more than 200 topics, including population and global climate change, migration, economic crisis, the imbalance of fertility rate and social security system.
Muslim woman urges French parliamentary panel to press for laws that would ban burqasSeptember 9th, 2009 Muslim woman presses French panel for burqa banPARIS — Her voice trembling with emotion, the leader of an advocacy group for Muslim women and girls urged a French parliamentary panel on Wednesday to press for laws that would ban the wearing of Islamic body- and face-covering veils. Sihem Habchi appeared as the first witness before a newly created parliamentary group studying Islamic clothing such as burqas and niqabs — part of France's effort to integrate its growing Muslim population while preserving its heritage and secular roots.
One-fifth of EU countries to have Muslim population by 2050August 9th, 2009 LONDON - A survey by a British newspaper has found that due to the rise in the levels of immigration from Muslim countries and low birth rates among Europe's indigenous population, a fifth of the European Union (EU) would have Muslim populations by 2050. Last year, five per cent of the total population of 27 EU countries was Muslim.
Most Muslim nations immune to Obamamania, says surveyAugust 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Obamamania may still be sweeping the world but not most Muslim nations, says a survey by the Pew Research Center here. Called the Global Attitudes Project, the survey of 24 countries and the Palestinian territories shows that the Muslim world remains largely immune to Obamamania, said Richard Wike, associate director of the study, in an article for CBS News Friday.
Obamamania fails to impress most Muslim nations: SurveyAugust 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Obamamania may still be sweeping the world, but not most Muslim nations, says a survey by the Pew Research Center here. Called Global Attitudes Project, the survey of 24 countries and the Palestinian territories shows that the Muslim world remains largely immune to Obamamania, said Richard Wike, associate director, Pew Global Attitudes Project, in an article for CBS News Friday.
Pakistan would be world's fourth most populated country in 2050: UNJuly 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan would be the fourth most populated country in the world in 2050 if its population continues to grow with the current rate, The United Nations Population Division has said. Pakistan would add another 335 million people to its current population and would thus overtake Brazil and Indonesia as the world's fourth most populated nation in the coming 40 years.
Police crack down on Muslim rebels in Sri LankaJuly 5th, 2009 COLOMBO - Police launched a crackdown on Muslim militants in eastern Sri Lanka when a deadline to surrender illegal weapons ended, a police spokesman said Sunday. The grace period to surrender weapons ended Saturday with a poor response, producing less than 25 weapons out of an estimated cache of more than 10 times that much, deputy police inspector general Edison Gunatillake said.
Global demand for food, fiber and fuel may outstrip supply in next 40 yearsJune 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new report has determined that with the caloric needs of the planet expected to soar by 50 percent in the next 40 years, planning and investment in global agriculture will become critically important. The report was produced by Deutsche Bank, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
Census: World's older population will triple by 2050, adding stress to government programsJune 23rd, 2009 World's 65 and older population to triple by 2050WASHINGTON — The world's 65-and-older population will triple by mid-century to 1 in 6 people, leaving the U.S. and other nations struggling to support the elderly.
US seeks to deepen economic, defence, academic ties with IndiaJune 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States says it's seeking to strengthen its ties with India across a broad spectrum with greater economic exchanges, a broadened access for academic institutions and improved defence ties. "In India, we're seeking to broaden and strengthen our bilateral relationship," Patrick Moon, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South & Central Asia told reporters at a briefing here last week on the global response to President Barack Obama's historic speech to the Muslim world.
Obama promises closer economic ties with Muslim worldJune 4th, 2009 CAIRO - In a much-anticipated speech to the Muslim world from Cairo Thursday, US President Barack Obama said he would expand economic, scientific and educational ties with predominantly Muslim countries. "We will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries," Obama said.
Now, effects of changing climate on sheep can be mathematically predictedMay 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, it has been proven that the effects of a changing climate on a population of bighorn sheep can be mathematically predicted. Researchers from Germany, the US, and Mexico studied a population of bighorn sheep introduced to Tiburon island, Mexico, in 1975.
Climate change claims 300,000 lives a year: ReportMay 29th, 2009 LONDON - Rising temperatures due to climate change already account for some 300,000 deaths a year around the world and could rise to half a million casualties by the year 2030, estimates published Friday showed. A report on the human impact of climate change, presented by the Global Humanitarian Forum in London Friday, put the current estimated costs of global warming at $125 billion a year.
Most Americans worried about growing influence of Islamic lawMarch 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Many in the United States have started expressing concern over the growth of the Muslim population in the country, and the simultaneous influential outreach of Islamic law in the daily lives of Americans. Many see Islamic law's growing influence as a threat and critics of the Shariah point to cases such as the airport in Minneapolis, where some Shariah-adherent taxi drivers made headlines in 2006 for refusing to pick up passengers they suspected of carrying liquor.
Loading ...