christianity in africa percentagechristianity in africa percentage

By 2060six of the countries with the top ten largest Christian populations will be in Africa, up from three in 2015, according to a new Pew Research Center report. In fact, 20 nations are now deadlier for Christians than North Korea. 43). Communist and post-communist oppression (3 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in three countries, all in Asia: North Korea (No. In 2015, birth rates of more than five children per woman in Uganda, Nigeria, and Ethiopiaand nearly five in Congosuggest that this trend will not decline over the next few decades. It has been the largest religion in the world since its inception and continues to be so today, with Christians making up large portions of populations across all continents - 37% in Americas, 75% in Europe, 35% in Africa and 3% in Asia-Pacific region. This video is hosted by YouTube. ", World Population Review, Christian population in Africa as of 2023, by country Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1368604/christian-population-in-africa-by-country/ (last visited July 09, 2023), Christian population in Africa as of 2023, by country [Graph], World Population Review, February 28, 2023. The 2021 list added four new countries: Mexico (No. In 1900 the region was 13.6 percent Christian. In theory, Africa is a highly Christian continent. Back then, Latin America was home to 591 million Christians. Although demography is far from an infallible crystal ball on the future of religious revivals and conflicts, trends in population growth and family do correlate strongly with religious attitudes. Then it is dragged out to a busy street corner, where a passerby will find it and get the disease in place of the patient. 1 for 20 years, since 2002 when the watch list began. February 28, 2023. Pakistan led the world in forced marriages, a new category tracked last year, with about 1,000 Christians married to non-Christians against their will. These changes have wide religious repercussions. 19 are in Africa (6 in North Africa), 14 are in Asia, 10 are in the Middle East, 5 are in Central Asia, and 2 are in Latin America. Her tiny body was skeletal; her skin . The global population stands at 6.9 billion and should reach 9 billion around 2050, but that increase will not be equitably distributed around the world. In 1987, a rebel group went into battle against the government under the leadership of a warrior priestess named Alice Lackwena. The projections are in line with the gradual shift that has increasingly seen Christian populations live outside the historical cultural centers of the religion. 2), Somalia (No. In Latin America, more than two-thirds of Christians in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador also report weekly attendance. Click To Tweet In 1900, twice as many Christians lived in Europe than in the rest of the world combined. Century Foundation. The study analyzed 84 countries with sizable Christian populations. 40% of the global population could be African by 2100, On-Demand Fishing Systems Need to Use a Common Language, Chilean Parks' Carbon Storage Power Doubles the Amazon's, State Resilience Planning Group Works to Reduce Climate Impacts, To Reduce Flood Risk, New Jersey Invests in Stormwater Utilities. Nearly half of the regions Muslims (46%) were under age 15, as were 44% of those adhering to folk religions, 41% of Christians and 40% of the unaffiliated. A century ago, this was not the case. In the 15th century Christianity came to Sub-Saharan Africa with the arrival of the Portuguese. Excluded are "unaffiliated" Christians and "double-counted.". This includes 1 in 6 believers in Africa and 2 out of 5 in Asia. We are not just talking to religious leaders, said Curry, at the livestream launch of this years list. Open Doors believes it is reasonable to call Christianity the worlds most severely persecuted religion. (February 28, 2023). "Africa is now growing predominantly Christian despite crackdowns," Pacwa said. 37). In many countries, however, censuses and surveys do not contain detailed information on denominational and religious movement affiliations. All nations of the world are monitored by Open Doors researchers and field staff, but in-depth attention is given to 100 nations and special focus on the 74 which record high levels of persecution (scores of more than 40 on Open Doorss 100-point scale). August 22, 2018 The world's most committed Christians live in Africa, Latin America - and the U.S. By Joey Marshall An Ethiopian Orthodox priest celebrates Epiphany. Nearly seven-in-ten U.S. Christians (68%) say they pray daily, while 47% say they attend church at least weekly. By contrast, 24% of the people living in the Global South are Christian. Why our church emphasizes a meal where all are welcome. A certain amount of cross-over is viewed as inevitable in the regular denominations as well, but lines must occasionally be drawn. Although Europe and the Americas still are home to a majority of the worlds Christians (63%), that share is much lower than it was in 1910 (93%). 1. In comparison, while there were three African countries (Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria) among countries with top ten largest Muslim populations in 2015, that number will be reduced to two (Nigeria and Egypt) by 2060. View on YouTube, This video is hosted by YouTube. Two are in Europe (Russia and Germany), two are in the Asia-Pacific region (the Philippines and China), and three are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia), reflecting Christianitys global reach. These African believers will have growing influence within the governing councils of great denominationsand will alter the worlds religious picture in other ways as well. So who are they? By 2060 six of the countries with the top ten largest Christian populations will be in Africa, up from three in 2015, according to a new Pew Research Center report. In, World Population Review. China arrested, jailed, or detained without charge 1,147 Christians for faith-related reasons, out of a total of 4,277 worldwide. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main On a recent Sunday morning in Lagos, Nigeria's biggest city, members of the faithful clutched their hymn books and chanted God's praises as they danced to the . 1), China (No. By contrast, the projection for the Christian share of the region in 2050 is 0.3 percentage points lower than if religious switching were not included in the projections. Dictatorial paranoia (5 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in five countries, mostly in Central Asia with Muslim majorities: Uzbekistan (No. Likewise in India, Open Doors researchers noted, religious minorities fear contact-tracing apps will have function creep and will be used to keep an eye on them and their movements., Third, the trend of citizenship tied to faith continued to spread. Mason Seminary in Atlanta, with whom I took the Black Theology course at Oral Roberts University in the 1990s. Many of these cameras are reported to be installed next to standard CCTV cameras, but they link to the Public Security Bureau, meaning artificial intelligence can instantly connect with other government databases. June 30 at 6:00 a.m. DOLOW, Somalia On the second day fleeing drought and hunger, 5-year-old Amina Abdi could no longer walk. Prayer frequency is just as high in six Latin American countries, including Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay. Another way of looking at the distribution of Christians around the world is by region. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Apr 28, 2010 In the twentieth century, Christianity in Africa exploded from an estimated population of eight or nine million in 1900 (8 to 9%) to some 335 million in 2000 (45%), marking a shift in the "center of gravity of Christianity" from the West to Latin America, parts of Asia and Africa. The belief that Christians are not truly Indian means widespread discrimination and persecution is often conducted with impunity. These changes are presenting internal challenges to these denominations over teachings on human sexuality, family life, and marriage. Get quick analyses with our professional research service. Beyond dominant architecture, the prominence of Christianity is often visible in other ways: in Ghana, for instance, small and medium scale businesses are often named based on biblical verses. A country such as Uganda, for instance, had 5.5 million people in 1950, a figure that could potentially increase to 80 million by 2050, and the question arises of how a country of limited size could accommodate so many people. There are already more Christians in Africa than any other continentthat's not going to change soon. Malaria in the U.S.: What Do We Need to Know? A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Please click here to learn how. Dont miss our latest facts, findings, and survey results in The Rundown. Several people were killed in riots that started when people began screaming that their genitals had been stolen. Abduction of Christians rose to 1,710, up 63 percent from the 1,052 tallied the year before, the first time the category was tracked by Open Doors. Profit from the additional features of your individual account. Whats more, while African countries have experienced economic development and many are enjoying a growing and vigorous middle class, social ideologies are still strongly in favor of parenthood and family. Christianity in Nigeria. 30), Russia (formerly No. To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. In contrast, the spread of Christianity is clearly visible in several African countries with an explosion in the number of church denominations and structures across urban centers and even in rural areas. Magic has been put to high political purpose. More tentatively, this demographic change should also mean that the strong religiosity so closely associated with African populations will continue and will increasingly spread beyond that continent. 7), Iran (No. And while much of the world might be losing its attachment to religionperhaps most clearly seen in an increasingly secularized Europethese trends point to startling new significance for Africa in the worlds religious picture. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Size & Demographic Characteristics of Religious Groups, The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050, Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050, Chapter 1: Main Factors Driving Population Growth, Chapter 2: Population Projections by Religious Group, Chapter 3: Population Projections by Region, A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married. The Pew Forum study suggests at least four possible answers, depending on how one divides up the world: In recent years, a number of scholarly books and articles have discussed the rapid growth of Christianity in the developing countries of the Global South especially Africa, Asia and Latin America and debated whether the influence of Christians in the Global North is waning, or not.4 A century ago, the Global North (commonly defined as North America, Europe, Australia, Japan and New Zealand) contained more than four times as many Christians as the Global South (the rest of the world).5 Today, the Pew Forum study finds, more than 1.3 billion Christians live in the Global South (61%), compared with about 860 million in the Global North (39%). For example, though Afghanistan is the worlds No. Hope youll give us another try and check out some other articles. Following not too far behind Zambia on the list of African nations with the highest percentage of Christian residents is the Republic of Seychelles, where 94.7 percent hold Christian beliefs. 25 to No. Nigerias religious fault lines are also highlighted in the report as, by 2060, it will be home to the third largest Muslim and Christian populations globally and will be the only country on the list on top ten largest populations for both religions. Almost half (48%) of all Christians live in the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians. Some walked miles and hid their Christian identity to get food elsewhere, noted researchers. We can be reasonably sure where the bulk of the worlds people will be living in 2050, but do we dare make statements about what they will believe? Back in 1920, Anglo-French writer Hilaire Belloc surveyed the state of Christianity and made the grandiose (and arrogant) assertion that The faith is Europe, and Europe is the faith. He believed not only that Christianity was inextricably linked to Europe and to people of European stock, but that the faith was also an integral part of European culture. Catholics have the highest percentage of followers worldwide (49 percent of Christians), followed by Protestants (22 percent), Independents (17 percent), and Orthodox (12 percent). (For more details, see Christian Movements and Denominations. During the launch event, Curry interviewed Afordia, a Nigerian Christian health care worker whose husband was executed by Boko Haram. Turkish influence and nationalist aims extend beyond its borders, most notably in its backing of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia., Fourth, attacks by mostly Muslim extremists increased despite lockdowns to contain the coronavirus. Africa (2.77 percent growth) and Asia (1.50 percent). Religious switching is expected to change the religious landscape of sub-Saharan Africa in future decades only modestly. By some projections, the African share of global population by 2100 could be 40 percent. This day is getting nearer, and Open Doors helps with this effort., Correction: In its first release of the report, Open Doors miscategorized the primary source of persecution in Colombia (No. In the dusty highlands of northern Ethiopia, a team of archaeologists recently uncovered the oldest known Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa, a find that sheds new light on one of the Old. (Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images) One of the key demographic trends in the modern world is the sharp global decline in the size of families. In 2020, Christians accounted for around 60 percent of the Sub-Saharan African population, followed by Muslims with a share of roughly 30 percent. And the proportion of Europeans and Americans who are Christian has dropped from 95% in 1910 to 76% in 2010 in Europe as a whole, and from 96% to 86% in the Americas as a whole. 34), and Oman (No. That would represent a twelvefold increase in raw numbers in just a century. 35), Ethiopia (No. In theory, Africa is a highly Christian continent. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of Marketing Cookies by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. In the Zairian rite, Christ is referred to as the Supreme Ancestor, sermons are interrupted with shouts of joy, and the bread and wine are danced up to the altar. (For information on the impact of religious switching on the demographic projections in this report, see Chapter 1.) African churches are also thriving throughout Europe, including in some unlikely settings. In 1900 it was only nine per cent Christian, by 2010 that figure had gone up to 57 per cent. Read our research on: LGBTQ Attitudes & Experiences| Artificial Intelligence | Affirmative Action, The total population in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow at a faster pace than in any other region in the decades ahead, more than doubling from 823 million in 2010 to 1.9 billion in 2050. The World Christian Database suggests that in 1900, about 35 million Muslims, or 17% of the global total, lived in Africa. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. "Christian Population in Africa as of 2023, by Country. Another 4 nations outside the top 50 also qualify as very high: Cuba, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, and Niger. African Islam has also benefited mightily from these changes. But when violence is isolated as a category, the top 10 persecutors shift dramaticallyonly Pakistan, Nigeria, and India remain. We are planning a short trip (to an undisclosed location), which I am very excited about. We may earn a commission from links on this page. not finished today. (See world maps weighted by Christian population in 1910 and 2010.). Most of the smaller religious groups in sub-Saharan Africa, including adherents of folk religions and the religiously unaffiliated, are expected to experience at least modest growth in the decades ahead, although the small Jewish population is projected to shrink. To see the estimated size of religious groups in specific countries in 2010 and 2050, see. Were you purchased for God with Christs blood? To quote journalist John L. Allen Jr., During the 20th century, the Catholic population of sub-Saharan Africa went from 1.9 million to more than 130 milliona staggering growth rate of 6,708 percent. In Black is a Church, Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College and professor of religion and African American and African Diaspora Studies, maps the ways in which Black American culture and identity have been animated by a particular set of Protestant ideas and practices.He reveals how Christianity, white supremacy, and colonialism coalesced in the modern understanding of religion, and became . 1.2 billion people are not affiliated with any specific religion, according to the study. The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Show sources information Christians make up 31 percent of the world's entire population and that translates to 2.3 billion people. Black is a Church is preoccupied with a set of questions that have been with me going all the way back to my college years, probably earlier. 19). The recent growth of the religion in Africa is mainly attributed to African Evangelism. 40), Mozambique (No. That number passed the billion mark by 2005 and, by 2050, could reach anywhere from 2 billion to 2.25 billion. Black is a Church ends with a chapter that brings together the foci of the first three, by analyzing some of the ways that various understandings of Christianity continue to shape Black life, across the spheres of literature, scholarship, and activism in the 1990s and the early years of the 21st century. The answer, of course, is that it will not, because so many of them will emigrate to other countries where aging populations stand in such dire need of new people to perform jobs and pay taxes. Perhaps because it has been reduced to a pre-colonial state of misery by misrule and civil war, Uganda seems to be particularly ripe for magic. 41 to No. Just as it has among American blacks, Christianity among Africans has taken on a distinctive flavor. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Conserving Marine Life in the United States, International Boreal Conservation Campaign, Protecting Coastal Wetlands and Coral Reefs, U.S. Public Lands and Rivers Conservation. In countries like India and Turkey, religious identity is increasingly tied to national identitymeaning, to be a real Indian or a good Turk, you must be a Hindu or a Muslim, respectively, noted researchers. Christians are projected to remain the regions largest religious group, growing from 517 million in 2010 to more than 1.1 billion in 2050. An infographic provided by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary shows that more than 631 million Christians currently reside in Africa and they make up 45 percent of the population. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-competition-for-believers-in-africas-religion-market-66e5255d. This reflects the fact that the total population of the Global South is about 4.5 times greater than the population of the Global North. By 2050, that proportion will probably be closer to 8 percent. Currently, you are using a shared account. But this shift is not wholly global, and population growth persists in sections of the Middle East and South Asia, and above all in Africa. Nowhere are there significant minorities rejecting or questioning the religious consensus, especially not such fundamental assumptions as the belief in God. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of Marketing Cookies by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. 6. In Britain, Africans lead the nations four largest megachurches. Not long ago, I was invited to join a small book clubjust a handful of guys meeting on Zoomwhich has helped me redevelop a reading practice not tied to work. In fourth place is Asia with 388 million Christians, though they only make up nine percent of the continent's population. Nigeria led the world with 3,530 martyrs confirmed by Open Doors for its 2021 list. Johnson is co-editor of the Atlas of Global Christianity, Edinburgh University Press, 2009. While the absolute number of Christians in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double in size by 2050, the Christian share of the region's population is expected to decline, dropping from 63% in 2010 to 59% in 2050. In 1950, the combined population of these nine nations was around 100 million, rising to almost 400 million by 2000. In 1910, about two-thirds of the worlds Christians lived in Europe, where the bulk of Christians had been for a millennium, according to historical estimates by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.2 Today, only about a quarter of all Christians live in Europe (26%). Meanwhile, the Muslim share is projected to increase from 30% to 35%. . A Growing Middle Class Could Save the World's Economy, A Look at the Facts, Issues, and Opinions Shaping Our World, Crunch: Migration in Europe: A Record Breaking Shift. 38 to No. 43 to No. Some European churches are too stuffy for African tastes. To borrow the remark credited to pioneering sociologist Auguste Comte, demography really is destiny. Particularly fascinating are the declines in several Middle Eastern nations. The source does not specify the date of publication. Since the 1990s, hundreds of popular religious and charismatic videos have appeared, teaching doctrines of deliverance and sanctification while reminding believers of the dangers inherent in occult dabbling. Second, increasing video and digital surveillance of religious groups and improvements in and proliferation of surveillance technology was another key trend. Christian population in Africa as of 2023, by country [Graph]. On a recent Sunday morning in Lagos, Nigerias biggest city, members of the faithful clutched their hymn books and chanted Gods praises as they danced to the beat of tambourines. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. But the conversations the group has had have provided balanced portions of religion, politics, and self-reflectionand a measure of good humor, too. Latin America is, meanwhile, estimated to have 601 million Christians. Josef Sorett examines the complex religious ideas and practices in his book, Black is a Church. In 1900, there were three Europeans for every African. Together with Christianity, Islam is the most common religious affiliation in Africa, followed by several traditional African religions. Nine countries had education data on Muslims . Freedom Caucus likely to play a bigger role in new GOP-led House. This especially affected minority women and children. Of all the parts of Christianity, the Holy Spirit does best on a continent that takes spirits seriously. A religious liberty newsletter that is a must-read for people of faith. During the 20th century, both groups grew substantially, partly by demographic expansion, but also through evangelism and conversion. Most of the book was written during the same time that I was leading a collaborative project at Columbia, which culminated with the publication in 2022 of The Sexual Politics of Black Churches, the volume that I edited. One common treatment is to sacrifice a goat or sheep and, with the proper incantations, transfer the disease to the carcass. The figures in this report on pentecostal, charismatic and evangelical Christians and on Protestant denominational families were commissioned by the Pew Forum from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass., whose researchers generated estimates based in large part on figures provided by Christian organizations around the world. Brazil has more than twice as many Catholics as Italy. The upsurge in the African Christian population matches general population growth projections; while around 2.2 billion people could be added to the global population by 2050, more than half of that growth will occur in Africa. But the Muslim population is expected to grow at a faster rate than the Christian population (170% vs. 115%), rising from 248 million to 670 million. The Pew Forum, in consultation with demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria, acquired and analyzed about 2,400 data sources, including censuses and general population surveys, to arrive at Christian population figures for 232 countries and self-administering territories all the countries and territories for which the United Nations Population Division provides overall population estimates. In that essay, among other topics, Kelley challenged a long-standing academic orthodoxy for thinking about where and how religion has shaped Black political activism. Other assessments of religious freedom worldwide corroborate many of Open Doorss findings. InBlack is a Church, Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College and professor of religion and African American and African Diaspora Studies, maps the ways in which Black American culture and identity have been animated by a particular set of Protestant ideas and practices. Other big changes in rankings: Colombia rose 11 spots from No. These findings reflect the broader pattern of Christianitys march southward from wealthy countries to developing ones. With the growth of Christianity and Islam there was an accom- 36). Consequently, the report does not show different projection scenarios with and without migration for this region. About half of black Africans joined one of the great monotheistic faiths, and they favored Christianity over Islam by a rate of 4-to-1. Lastly, Oceania has 29 million Christians, which accounts for 71 percent of the people living there. More Christians Now Live in Africa Than Any Other Continent in the World, A church in Mansa, the capital of the Luapula province of Zambia, Parent wins back job after voicing objection to schools gender ideology lessons, Kirk Cameron demands investigation of American Library Association, Pennsylvania's Democrat gov. Asia accounted for 72 percent of the forced marriages tallied by Open Doors, with Africaled by Nigeriathe remaining 28 percent. Today, some African-founded churches in Europe are even reaching out with new missions to the African homelands of their members parents, in what we might term double reverse mission.. Though Christianity began in the Middle East-North Africa, today that region has both the lowest concentration of Christians (about 4% of the region's population) and the smallest number of Christians (about 13 million) of any major geographic region. Other Christians, such as Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses, make up the remaining 1% of the global Christian population. This tally by Open Doors rose from 3,711 last year and 3,150 in 2019. Copyright 1996-2023 The Pew Charitable Trusts. At the same time, Christianity has grown enormously in sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, where there were relatively few Christians at the beginning of the 20th century.