The world in muslim populations, every country listed

An American thinktank estimates there are about 1.57bn Muslims worldwide – roughly 23% of the total 6.8bn population.

The study, by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, is based on census data from more than 200 countries.

Almost 62% of the world's Muslim population live in the Asia/Pacific region, compared with only 20% in the Middle East and North Africa (the historical cradle of Islam).

More than 300m Muslims – one-fifth of the total – live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. China, for example, has more Muslims than Syria and Germany has more than Lebanon.

Within Islam, the report suggests 87%-90% are Sunnis and 10%-13% Shias. This is a smaller proportion of Shias than in some previous estimates and the report cautions that many countries do not collect sectarian data in their censuses.

The Pew Forum says it is planning another study next year which will attempt to project Muslim population figures into the future.

Download the full report PDF (62 pages, 10MB)

« Executive Summary

Map: World Distribution of Muslim Population »

IN THIS REPORT

1. Global Muslim Population: Executive Summary
   
   
   
   1. Map: Distribution of Muslim Population by Country and Territory
   
   
   2. Map: World Distribution of Muslim Population
   
   
   3. Asia Predominates
   
   
   4. Living as Majorities and Minorities
   
   
   5. Sunni and Shia Populations
      
      
      
      1. Quick Definition: Sunnis and Shias
      
      
      2. Map: More Than a Third of the World's Shia Muslims Live in Iran


2. Asia-Pacific Overview
   
   
   
   1. Map: Distribution of Muslim Population in Asia-Pacific


3. Middle East-North Africa Overview
   
   
   
   1. Map: Distribution of Muslim Population in Middle East-North Africa


4. Sub-Saharan Africa Overview
   
   
   
   1. Map: Distribution of Muslim Population in Sub-Saharan Africa


5. Europe Overview
   
   
   
   1. Map: Distribution of Muslim Population in Europe


6. Americas Overview
   
   
   
   1. Map: Distribution of Muslim Population in the Americas


7. Interactive Data Table: World Muslim Population by Region


8. Interactive Data Table: World Muslim Population by Country


9. Methodology for Muslim Population Estimates


10. Methodology for Sunni-Shia Estimates


11. Data Sources by Country


12. About this Report