Number of Christians by Country
Christianity is the world's most popular religion, with roughly 2.3 billion adherents. Christianity is closely followed in second place by Islam, with about 2 billion adherents. This map provides a visualisation of Christianity across the world, showing the number of Christians per country, along with the percentage of Christians relative to the country's total population. The figures are accurate as of 2024.
Key Observations:
United States: Has the largest Christian population in absolute numbers with 230 million Christians, which is 71% of its total population.
Brazil: Follows with a Christian population of approximately 180.77 million, but has a higher percentage (90%) of Christians relative to its total population than the US.
Mexico: Also has a high percentage of Christians at 92.4%, with 107.78 million Christians.
Diversity in Christian Population Percentage: The dataset shows significant diversity in the percentage of Christians across countries. For instance, China has a Christian population of 48.22 million but this only constitutes 3% of its massive population.
India’s Unique Position: Despite having a Christian population of 30 million, it only represents 2.3% of its total population, reflecting the country’s religious diversity and large population.
High Christian Population Percentage with Small Numbers: Some countries like Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste have very high percentages of Christians (97% and 99.1% respectively) but their absolute numbers are much smaller compared to larger countries.
Countries with Small Percentages: There are countries with very small percentages of Christians, such as Afghanistan (0.1%), Somalia (0%), and Maldives (0.1%), which correspond to small absolute numbers as well.
Ranking and Distribution:
Top Ranked: The top-ranked countries by Christian population are largely from the Americas and Africa, reflecting the spread of Christianity through colonization and missionary work.
African Countries: Several African countries have high Christian populations both in percentage and absolute numbers, such as Nigeria and Ethiopia, showing Christianity’s significant presence on the continent.
European Countries: European countries like Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom have sizable Christian populations in absolute numbers, but the percentage varies, possibly due to secularization trends and diverse religious demographics.
Implications and Context:
Cultural Influence: The percentage of Christians in a country can influence its culture, holidays, and politics.
Demographic Shifts: The dataset does not show changes over time, but demographic shifts can affect these numbers due to factors like birth rates, religious conversion, and migration.
Religious Diversity: Countries with smaller percentages of Christians often have significant populations of other religions, indicating religious diversity.