Pew Research Center's 2025 study of how the world's religious landscape changed between 2010 and 2020 estimates how many Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, followers of other religions and religiously unaffiliated people live in each of 201 countries and territories. We used its 2020 figures to rank the 25 countries with the most people in five of those groups. Each ranking has its own chart.
Muslims: Indonesia, Pakistan and India
Indonesia had 239.0 million Muslims, Pakistan 226.9 million and India 213.1 million. In India they were 15.2% of the population; in the other two, a large majority. The world's Muslim population grew 20.7% over the decade, the fastest of the five groups, and Muslims' share of all people rose from 23.9% to 25.6%. Countries With the Most Muslims 2020.
Christians: the United States still first, but shrinking
The United States had 217.3 million Christians, more than any other country, followed by Brazil (168.3 million) and Mexico (113.1 million). But the US count was 10.8% lower than in 2010, and Christians fell from 78.3% to 64.0% of Americans. Worldwide, Christians grew 5.7%, more slowly than the world's population, so their share fell from 30.6% to 28.8%. Countries With the Most Christians 2020.
Hindus: almost all in India
India was home to 1,113.2 million Hindus, 94.5% of the world total. Nepal (23.5 million) and Bangladesh (13.1 million) came next. The United States, seventh with 3.0 million, had 69.8% more Hindus than in 2010. Countries With the Most Hindus 2020.
Buddhists: the only group that shrank
Of Pew's seven groups, only Buddhists became fewer: 342.8 million in 2010, 324.2 million in 2020, down 5.4%. Most of the fall was in China, where the count dropped from 76.1 million to 53.4 million. That left Thailand, with 67.6 million, as the country with the most Buddhists. Countries With the Most Buddhists 2020.
The religiously unaffiliated: China, then the United States
China had 1,278.1 million people who do not identify with any religion, 67.1% of the world's total. The United States was second with 100.9 million, nearly double its 2010 figure of 51.2 million; Japan was third with 72.6 million. Countries With the Most Religiously Unaffiliated People 2020.
Summary
| Group | World 2020 | Change since 2010 | Country with the most | Its count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muslims | 2,022.6 million | +20.7% | Indonesia | 239.0 million |
| Christians | 2,268.9 million | +5.7% | United States | 217.3 million |
| Hindus | 1,177.9 million | +12.0% | India | 1,113.2 million |
| Buddhists | 324.2 million | -5.4% | Thailand | 67.6 million |
| Religiously unaffiliated | 1,905.4 million | +16.5% | China | 1,278.1 million |
About the data
Pew built its estimates from more than 2,700 sources, including national censuses, demographic and general population surveys and population registers, and took country population totals from the United Nations' World Population Prospects (2024 revision). All counts are Pew's rounded figures, given to the nearest 10,000; Pew notes that in most countries the number of people in each religion cannot be measured precisely. For the world as a whole, see our chart of the world population by religion. Our previous world ranking post covered tobacco, dates, mushrooms, oranges and wool.