Its the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad, where Muslims believe he first received Gods revelations of the Quran. The religious site in the country, the Hala Sultan Tekke, serves as a pilgrimage site for both Christians and Muslims. Earth is home to more than 1.9 billion Muslims. For residents, Islams holiest sites are simply home. We've based our map on the results of three WIN/Gallup . VideoThe surprising benefits of breaking up, Presenter photo claims are clear crisis for BBC. What is it like living in Mecca? For residents, Islam's holiest sites It said Bayo was an excellent soldier and he had received an undisclosed sum in compensation. Its my childhood. There is no clear difference, for example, on views about democracy. Read about our approach to external linking. In Malaysia, for example, Islam is the official religion, and a 1996 fatwa required the country to follow Sunni Islam teachings in particular. Dozens of people have stormed the compound of the Swedish embassy in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, after a Quran was burnt during a protest in Sweden. Bearskins but no drones: did coronation parade reflect modern UK military? The Government Restrictions Index is typically comprised of 20 indicators. The Pew Research Center acknowledged a total of 50 Muslim-majority nations (including territories West Bank, Gaza Strip, Mayotte, and Western Sahara) in the world in 2010, but added Nigeria to its 2020 estimate to reach 51. He is now driving taxis. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil), A general view shows the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 25, 2023. T o mark World Religion Day, a Bah' initiative started in the 1950s, we've mapped the world's most - and least - religious countries. All Rights Reserved. [31] [36] (with around 1%),[37] non-denominational Muslims, Quranist Muslims and Wahhabis (with around 12%[38] of the world's total Muslim population) also exist. A Muslim-majority country is one in which more than 50% of the people are Muslims. [314] Furthermore, Pakistan is projected to be the country with the largest Muslim population by 2030. The government also reportedly has surveillance cameras at mosques, and donations to mosques by individuals are banned.19. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Although the canteen closed at 6pm for junior ranks, soldiers who went out on patrol and arrived late were saved a hot meal. Projection for 2020 (Pew Research Center, based on 2010 baseline estimates) Map of major religions and denominations Pew Research Center made its "Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050" [2] based on 2010 baseline estimates. Polish adults appear to recognize this level of influence three-quarters (75%) say religious leaders have at least some influence in political matters. New Yorks Lincoln Center is accustomed to hosting grand events, but Saturdays was far from routine. Israel is the only country in the world with Judaism as its official state religion.11 And no country names Hinduism as its official state religion though India has a powerful Hindu political party, and Nepal came close to enshrining Hinduism in 2015, when the rejection of a constitutional amendment declaring Hinduism as the state religion led to a confrontation between pro-Hindu protesters and police.12. Bayo, originally from the Gambia, a Commonwealth nation from which the British army has traditionally recruited, joined up in 2004 and served full-time for six years, and afterwards as a reservist. He had to move out of his apartment because his landlord wanted to rent it out to pilgrims and make some extra money. A slightly smaller share of countries (20%) have a preferred or favored religion. My grandfather fought in the second world war, in Burma, and I grew up seeing his medals. Again, this relationship holds even when taking population size, democratic processes and social hostilities into account. Islam is also the world's fastest-growing religion. These restrictions are analyzed using the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), a 10-point scale measuring government laws, practices and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices, with a score of 10 indicating the highest level of restrictions.37In countries with an official state religion, the median GRI score was 4.8 in 2015, compared with 2.8 in countries with preferred or favored religions and 1.8 in countries with no official or preferred religion.38. Uzbekistan is holding a snap presidential election, a vote that follows a constitutional referendum that extended the incumbents term from five to seven years. The constitution of Djibouti, for example, names Islam as the Religion of the State, and all other religious groups are required to register with the Ministry of Interior, which requires a lengthy background investigation of each group.17, In the Asia-Pacific region, 10 countries (20%) have an official state religion, and nine countries (18%) have a preferred or favored religion. In Israel and the Palestinian territories, there were reports of arson attacks by individuals on mosques, churches and rabbinical courts in 2020. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. The Quran burning on Wednesday took place as Muslims around the world celebrated the first day of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important festivals in the Muslim calendar. First is the age of the estimate, which is relevant because the Muslim population in each country tends to grow, raising the nationwide percentage of Muslims over time. The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has more Muslims than any other Muslim-majority countries except Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran and Turkey.[8]. We dont have a reliable way of learning about every incident, so we dont try to count the total number of cases. [24][25] Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region (from Turkey to Indonesia), with over one billion adherents. The city has little of the glitz of Gulf cities like Dubai or Doha, or even Riyadh. List of religious populations The project is jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation. Across countries with an official or preferred religion, a median of 81% of members of the dominant faith say being a member of that faith is very or somewhat important for national identity. List of countries by irreligion An AFP news agency photographer at the scene said the crowd briefly entered the building and remained inside for about 15 minutes before leaving when local security forces were deployed. Many cases of vandalism in Europe involved Nazi symbols, such as swastikas. This includes banning a group for non-security reasons, or banning a group for both security and non-security reasons. People are so excited that I live here. Thirteen countries (30% of countries with an official religion) declare Christianity, in general, or a particular Christian denomination to be their official state religion. *Note: At 99.4% Muslim, the disputed territory Western Sahara would rank at #8but as it has not yet been recognized as a country by the United Nations, it was disqualified. And there are four countries in sub-Saharan Africa where Islam is the state religion: Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania and Somalia. The Quran burning was condemned by many Muslim-majority countries. The 10 Most Religious Countries | Best Countries | U.S. News After Christianity, Buddhism is the next most commonly favored religion. Muslim cleansing: A global pandemic? Respondents in all 18 countries were asked whether they think their government should promote religious values and beliefs, or if religion should be kept separate from government policies. Demography Encyclopaedia Iranica", "The moment American Muslims were waiting for", "10 Countries With the Largest Muslim Populations, 2010 and 2050date=2015-04-02", "The Middle East and Muslim Southeast Asia: Implications of the Arab Spring", "The Politics of American Muslim demographics", "THE GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE: Muslims", "The Future of the Global Muslim Population: Projections fro 2010 to 2030", Official website of the Pew Forum study on Global Muslim Population, Muslim Population-A Site with Extensive information regarding worldwide Muslim population, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Islam_by_country&oldid=1163179340, This page was last edited on 3 July 2023, at 11:16. In India, more than 200 people reportedly attacked a house church in the state of Haryana and beat the pastor for allegedly converting Hindus to Christianity. The country that's famous for tolerance Delays in property restitution cases, or a lack of legal mechanisms to recover confiscated property, were also an issue for religious groups in Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. Among these countries, Lithuania and Serbia both have multiple preferred religions, including various Christian denominations. In some ways, states that have an official or preferred religion tend to behave differently from states that do not. In a small minority of countries, the official religion is largely ceremonial or it receives some benefits along with its official status. You said you were going to fast but we are going to make life difficult for you and eventually you will crack, buckle and stop, Bayo said. By comparison, just 13 countries (including nine European nations) designate Christianity or a particular Christian denomination as their state religion. At this time, many Muslims from around the globe make a pilgrimage to the holy city of . Among countries with official or preferred religions, Poland is an exception to this pattern, because of its strong support for separation of church and state (70%). Georgia. International Religious Freedom Report for 2015. There are currently approximately 50 Muslim-majority countries in the world, though the precise number differs slightly depending upon the source. [314] Most of these changes are expected to come from immigration. [31] This non-denominational affiliation is most common in Southern and Eastern Europe as well as Central Asia, with minority populations in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Christianity In The Middle East: Countries With The Highest Christian Meccan families would just hang out around the Grand Mosque, since there were few other public spaces. Many incidents involved mob violence in South Asia. Since 2016, Muslim . Its always like this during the Hajj, he said in Urdu, gesturing to streets teeming with sweaty pilgrims. [314], The largest Muslim population growths are expected to be in the Middle East and Africa. Seventeen of the 20 countries that make up the region have a state religion and in all of them except Israel, the state religion is Islam. The Orthodox Church, Catholic Church and Muslim community also had properties tied up in restitution cases in 2020. If updated numbers become available, Eritrea may well become the newest Muslim-majority country. These countries not only suppress religious expression, they systematically torture and detain people who cross political and social red lines around faith. [26] As of June 2023, the largest Muslim population in a country is in Pakistan (240,760,000), followed by Indonesia (236,000,000), India (200,000,000), and Bangladesh (150,800,000). President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "We will eventually teach the arrogant Westerners that insulting Muslims is not freedom of thought.". And only one country with an official religion Tuvalu provides no significant funding or resources for religious education programs or religious schools. Burma. Islam was created in the city of Mecca, located in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Since gaining independence, these predominantly Muslim countries have allowed nominal freedom of worship, and many of their leaders have publicly embraced Islam. [7] Islam is the majority religion in several subregions: Central Asia, Western Asia, North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, and the Middle East. A projection by the PEW suggests that Muslims numbered approximately 1.9 billion followers in 2020. Around 1.5% of the population of Cyprus are Roman Catholics and 1% are members of the . This benefit was offered to all registered groups, and was not limited to Christians, the favored religion in Liberia.33. Now a taxi driver, Bayo lives in Yorkshire with his wife and three children. This quality. In Cuba, authorities demolished a Baptist church that they claimed was unauthorized, and razed another church affiliated with a pastor at odds with the government.