Overview

• Between 2010 and 2020 the Muslim population grew by 347 million, raising Islam’s share of the global population to 25.6 percent and making it the fastest-growing major religion.
• Christianity remained the largest faith with 2.3 billion adherents, but its share fell by 1.8 percentage points to 28.8 percent.
• The religiously unaffiliated rose by 270 million to 1.9 billion people, boosting their global share to 24.2 percent.
• Muslims have the youngest demographic profile, with 33 percent under age 15, while Jews and Buddhists each have over one-third of followers aged 50 and older.
• Hindus increased by 126 million to 1.2 billion, Jews grew by about 6 percent to 15 million with 45.9 percent living in Israel, and Buddhism was the only major religion to see a 0.8 percent decline.