2. WORLD’S RELIGIONS
There are many different religions around the
world. Although they are often very different
from each other in theology and practice, most
of them focus on two almost universal themes:
How to act on Earth and what to expect in the
afterlife.
3. RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD
Globally, Christianity has the largest
number of followers of these categories.
Around 31% of the world’s population
are Christians, closely followed by
Muslims at 25%. Jews have the smallest
population of any major religion, with
only 0.2% of the world identifying as
Jewish.
Islam is also the fastest growing
major religion in the world. The
number of Muslims is expected to
increase by 70%. The fact that they
have the youngest median age, 24,
also illustrates this demographic
growth.
CHRISTIANITY ISLAM
4. RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD
According to estimates, Half of the
world’s Buddhists live in China. Still, they
represent only 18% of the country’s
population. Buddhism in Asia is a matter
of both identity and practice. Scholars
and theologians have documented that
many Asian countries can engage in
Buddhist practices without considering
themselves part of any organized religion.
Hinduism is the third-largest religion worldwide.
Oddly, Hinduism is the dominant religion in
only three countries—but one of the three
happens to be the second-most-populated
country in the world, India, (78.9%). The other
two countries are Nepal (80.6%)
and Mauritius (48.4%). Although Hinduism is
rarely a country's primary religion, it still enjoys
a global presence. Many regions around the
world support significant populations of Hindus,
including the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, North
BUDDHISM HINDUISM
5. RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD
These are faiths that are closely
associated with a particular group
of people, ethnicity or tribe. They
often have no formal creeds or
sacred texts.
From the study of Pew Forum
also finds that roughly one-in-
six people around the globe
have no religious affiliation.
INDIGENOUS NON-RELIGIONS
