{"chart":{"title":"Number of people by religion","subtitle":"Estimates are based on how people describe their own religious identity. This self-identification is taken regardless of their practices or beliefs.","note":"\"Other religions\" include Baha'is, Daoists (also spelled Taoists), Jains, Shintoists, Sikhs, Wiccans, Zoroastrians, and many small groups, some of which can be described as folk or traditional religions.","citation":"Pew Research Center (2025)","originalChartUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-people-by-religion?csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=true","selection":["World"]},"columns":{"count__religion_buddhists":{"titleShort":"Number of people\nwho are Buddhists","titleLong":"Number of people\nwho are Buddhists","descriptionShort":"Estimates of the number of people who are buddhists.","descriptionKey":["These estimates are [sourced from](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/global-religious-change-methodology/) more than 2,700 censuses and surveys.","People are categorized based on how they describe their own religious identity. If someone identifies with a religious group, they're classified as being part of that group regardless of their practices or beliefs.","While censuses often provide information on people of all ages, most surveys only report on the religious composition of adults. In such cases, researchers use indirect demographic methods to estimate this data for children. For example, Pew uses data on the age structure and fertility rates of women in different religious groups to estimate the proportion of each religious group in the child population. This assumes that children share their mother's religion.","Pew's methodology has changed over time, as improved data sources have become available. That means its latest estimates for 2010 — shown in this dataset — may differ from its earlier publications. You can see these changes and the reasons for these revisions in [its updated methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/why-we-revised-our-estimates-for-2010/)."],"unit":"people","timespan":"2010-2020","type":"NumberOrString","owidVariableId":1119765,"shortName":"count__religion_buddhists","lastUpdated":"2025-10-31","nextUpdate":"2026-10-31","citationShort":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of people\nwho are Buddhists” [dataset]. Pew Research Center, “Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1119765.metadata.json"},"count__religion_hindus":{"titleShort":"Number of people\nwho are Hindus","titleLong":"Number of people\nwho are Hindus","descriptionShort":"Estimates of the number of people who are hindus.","descriptionKey":["These estimates are [sourced from](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/global-religious-change-methodology/) more than 2,700 censuses and surveys.","People are categorized based on how they describe their own religious identity. If someone identifies with a religious group, they're classified as being part of that group regardless of their practices or beliefs.","While censuses often provide information on people of all ages, most surveys only report on the religious composition of adults. In such cases, researchers use indirect demographic methods to estimate this data for children. For example, Pew uses data on the age structure and fertility rates of women in different religious groups to estimate the proportion of each religious group in the child population. This assumes that children share their mother's religion.","Pew's methodology has changed over time, as improved data sources have become available. That means its latest estimates for 2010 — shown in this dataset — may differ from its earlier publications. You can see these changes and the reasons for these revisions in [its updated methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/why-we-revised-our-estimates-for-2010/)."],"unit":"people","timespan":"2010-2020","type":"NumberOrString","owidVariableId":1119767,"shortName":"count__religion_hindus","lastUpdated":"2025-10-31","nextUpdate":"2026-10-31","citationShort":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of people\nwho are Hindus” [dataset]. Pew Research Center, “Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1119767.metadata.json"},"count__religion_muslims":{"titleShort":"Number of people\nwho are Muslims","titleLong":"Number of people\nwho are Muslims","descriptionShort":"Estimates of the number of people who are muslims.","descriptionKey":["These estimates are [sourced from](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/global-religious-change-methodology/) more than 2,700 censuses and surveys.","People are categorized based on how they describe their own religious identity. If someone identifies with a religious group, they're classified as being part of that group regardless of their practices or beliefs.","While censuses often provide information on people of all ages, most surveys only report on the religious composition of adults. In such cases, researchers use indirect demographic methods to estimate this data for children. For example, Pew uses data on the age structure and fertility rates of women in different religious groups to estimate the proportion of each religious group in the child population. This assumes that children share their mother's religion.","Pew's methodology has changed over time, as improved data sources have become available. That means its latest estimates for 2010 — shown in this dataset — may differ from its earlier publications. You can see these changes and the reasons for these revisions in [its updated methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/why-we-revised-our-estimates-for-2010/)."],"unit":"people","timespan":"2010-2020","type":"NumberOrString","owidVariableId":1119769,"shortName":"count__religion_muslims","lastUpdated":"2025-10-31","nextUpdate":"2026-10-31","citationShort":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of people\nwho are Muslims” [dataset]. Pew Research Center, “Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1119769.metadata.json"},"count__religion_jews":{"titleShort":"Number of people\nwho are Jews","titleLong":"Number of people\nwho are Jews","descriptionShort":"Estimates of the number of people who are jews.","descriptionKey":["These estimates are [sourced from](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/global-religious-change-methodology/) more than 2,700 censuses and surveys.","People are categorized based on how they describe their own religious identity. If someone identifies with a religious group, they're classified as being part of that group regardless of their practices or beliefs.","While censuses often provide information on people of all ages, most surveys only report on the religious composition of adults. In such cases, researchers use indirect demographic methods to estimate this data for children. For example, Pew uses data on the age structure and fertility rates of women in different religious groups to estimate the proportion of each religious group in the child population. This assumes that children share their mother's religion.","Pew's methodology has changed over time, as improved data sources have become available. That means its latest estimates for 2010 — shown in this dataset — may differ from its earlier publications. You can see these changes and the reasons for these revisions in [its updated methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/why-we-revised-our-estimates-for-2010/)."],"unit":"people","timespan":"2010-2020","type":"NumberOrString","owidVariableId":1119768,"shortName":"count__religion_jews","lastUpdated":"2025-10-31","nextUpdate":"2026-10-31","citationShort":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of people\nwho are Jews” [dataset]. Pew Research Center, “Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1119768.metadata.json"},"count__religion_christians":{"titleShort":"Number of people\nwho are Christians","titleLong":"Number of people\nwho are Christians","descriptionShort":"Estimates of the number of people who are christians.","descriptionKey":["These estimates are [sourced from](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/global-religious-change-methodology/) more than 2,700 censuses and surveys.","People are categorized based on how they describe their own religious identity. If someone identifies with a religious group, they're classified as being part of that group regardless of their practices or beliefs.","While censuses often provide information on people of all ages, most surveys only report on the religious composition of adults. In such cases, researchers use indirect demographic methods to estimate this data for children. For example, Pew uses data on the age structure and fertility rates of women in different religious groups to estimate the proportion of each religious group in the child population. This assumes that children share their mother's religion.","Pew's methodology has changed over time, as improved data sources have become available. That means its latest estimates for 2010 — shown in this dataset — may differ from its earlier publications. You can see these changes and the reasons for these revisions in [its updated methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/why-we-revised-our-estimates-for-2010/)."],"unit":"people","timespan":"2010-2020","type":"NumberOrString","owidVariableId":1119766,"shortName":"count__religion_christians","lastUpdated":"2025-10-31","nextUpdate":"2026-10-31","citationShort":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of people\nwho are Christians” [dataset]. Pew Research Center, “Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1119766.metadata.json"},"count__religion_religiously_unaffiliated":{"titleShort":"Number of people\nwho are not religious","titleLong":"Number of people\nwho are not religious","descriptionShort":"Estimates of the number of people who are religiously unaffiliated.","descriptionKey":["These estimates are [sourced from](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/global-religious-change-methodology/) more than 2,700 censuses and surveys.","People are categorized based on how they describe their own religious identity. If someone identifies with a religious group, they're classified as being part of that group regardless of their practices or beliefs.","The religiously unaffiliated population includes people who say they do not identify with any religion or that they are atheist or agnostic in surveys and censuses.","Some people categorised as “non-religious” or “religiously unaffiliated” may engage in activities and hold beliefs that can be considered religious or spiritual, even though they don't describe themselves as belonging to any religion. This is particularly important for Chinese data, since “religiously unaffiliated” is by far the largest group. Pew [discusses this](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/08/30/measuring-religion-in-china/) in detail.","While censuses often provide information on people of all ages, most surveys only report on the religious composition of adults. In such cases, researchers use indirect demographic methods to estimate this data for children. For example, Pew uses data on the age structure and fertility rates of women in different religious groups to estimate the proportion of each religious group in the child population. This assumes that children share their mother's religion.","Pew's methodology has changed over time, as improved data sources have become available. That means its latest estimates for 2010 — shown in this dataset — may differ from its earlier publications. You can see these changes and the reasons for these revisions in [its updated methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/why-we-revised-our-estimates-for-2010/)."],"unit":"people","timespan":"2010-2020","type":"NumberOrString","owidVariableId":1119771,"shortName":"count__religion_religiously_unaffiliated","lastUpdated":"2025-10-31","nextUpdate":"2026-10-31","citationShort":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of people\nwho are not religious” [dataset]. Pew Research Center, “Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1119771.metadata.json"},"count__religion_other_religions":{"titleShort":"Number of people\naffiliated to other religions","titleLong":"Number of people\naffiliated to other religions","descriptionShort":"Estimates of the number of people affiliated to other religions. Other religions include Baha'is, Daoists (also spelled Taoists), Jains, Shintoists, Sikhs, Wiccans, Zoroastrians and many small groups, some of which can be described as folk or traditional religions.","descriptionKey":["These estimates are [sourced from](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/global-religious-change-methodology/) more than 2,700 censuses and surveys.","People are categorized based on how they describe their own religious identity. If someone identifies with a religious group, they're classified as being part of that group regardless of their practices or beliefs.","While censuses often provide information on people of all ages, most surveys only report on the religious composition of adults. In such cases, researchers use indirect demographic methods to estimate this data for children. For example, Pew uses data on the age structure and fertility rates of women in different religious groups to estimate the proportion of each religious group in the child population. This assumes that children share their mother's religion.","Pew's methodology has changed over time, as improved data sources have become available. That means its latest estimates for 2010 — shown in this dataset — may differ from its earlier publications. You can see these changes and the reasons for these revisions in [its updated methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/why-we-revised-our-estimates-for-2010/)."],"unit":"people","timespan":"2010-2020","type":"NumberOrString","owidVariableId":1119770,"shortName":"count__religion_other_religions","lastUpdated":"2025-10-31","nextUpdate":"2026-10-31","citationShort":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Pew Research Center (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of people\naffiliated to other religions” [dataset]. Pew Research Center, “Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1119770.metadata.json"}},"dateDownloaded":"2026-04-04","activeFilters":{}}