Many different religions exist throughout the world. A religion is defined as a system of faith or worship. A religious person believes in a higher power, such as a God or gods. Beliefs vary based on religion.
There are many different religions, but the most popular is Christianity, followed by an estimated 33% of people, and Islam, which is practiced by over 24% of people. Other religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Of course, there is also a large population – about 1.2 billion people worldwide – that are nonreligious or have Atheist beliefs.
Below is each religion's total world population:
- Christianity - 2.38 billion
- Islam - 1.91 billion
- Hinduism - 1.16 billion
- Buddhism - 507 million
- Folk Religions - 430 million
- Other - 61 million
- Unaffiliated - 1.19 billion
Christianity
The world's largest religion is Christianity, which is practiced by almost 2.4 billion people. Christianity is divided into Eastern and Western theology, and within those divisions, six branches; Catholicism, Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Assyrians.
In Vatican City and the Pitcairn Islands, 100% of the population is Christian. In other nations, at least 93% of the population is Christian. Those nations are:
- American Samoa, Armenia
- Barbados
- East Timor, El Salvador
- Greece
- Kiribati
- Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia
- Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru
- Romania
- Samoa, San Marino
- Tonga
- Venezuela
Islam
Islam is the world's second-largest religion. People that practice Islam are known as Muslims. In the Maldives, Mauritania, and Saudi Arabia, 100% of inhabitants practice Islam. In these nations, at least 95% of inhabitants identify as either Sunni or Shi'a Muslim:
- Afghanistan, Algeria
- Comoros
- Iran, Iraq
- Kuwait
- Libya
- Morocco
- Pakistan
- Somalia, Sudan
- Tunisia, Turkey
- Yemen
There are 50 Muslim-majority countries worldwide, or countries where over 50% of the population is Muslim.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the third-largest religion globally. Hinduism is considered dharma, or way of life. It originated on the Indian subcontinent and is widely practiced throughout Southeast Asia. The four main denominations are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism.
Unsurprisingly, India has the largest Hindu population but not the highest percentage of Hindus. There are 1.053 billion Hindus in India, about79.8% of the population. Nepal has the second-highest Hindu population at 23.5, 81.3% of the population.
Other countries with high Hindu populations are:
Buddhism
Buddhism also originated in India and is based on the teachings of Buddha. Buddhists have unique traditions, values, and beliefs, such as reincarnation.
About 507 million people practice Buddhism worldwide. China has the largest Buddhist population of 244 million, followed by Thailand with 64.4 million and Japan with 45.8 million.
Cambodia has the highest percentage of Buddhists at 96.9%, followed by Thailand at 93.2% and Myanmar with 87.90%.
Other Religions
In some nations, traditional Chinese religions, including Confucianism and Taoism, are practiced. This is most frequently seen in these nations:
Ethic and indigenous religions are practiced in many countries. In Guinea-Bissau and Haiti, an estimated 50% of the population follows one of these religions. Other nations where ethnic and indigenous religions are practiced include:
Unaffiliated or Atheist
Finally, as mentioned, many people are not religious or Atheism. This is mostly seen in nations including Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Japan, where over three-quarters of the population is irreligious. Other nations with a high percentage of people without religion include: