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Visualizing the World’s Most Popular Religions

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The World's Most Popular Religions

Visualizing the World’s Most Popular Religions

According to some estimates, there are over 4,000 religions, faiths groups, and denominations that exist around the world today. Researchers and academics generally categorize the world’s religions into five major groups: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.

This graphic by Chit Chart visualizes the most popular religions around the world, using the latest available data from Index Mundi’s world demographics.

In addition to the five major religious groups, the graphic includes two more categories: one for a collective of Folk religions and another for people who are unaffiliated with a religion.

The Religions with the Most Followers

Although the number of people who follow a religion has decreased in recent decades, 82.8% of the global population still identifies with one of the world’s major religions.

Here’s a breakdown of the most popular religions, ranked by their following as a percentage of the world’s population:

RankReligion% of World’s Population
1Christian31.4%
2Muslim23.2%
3Unaffiliated16.4%
4Hindu15.0%
5Buddhist7.1%
6Folk Religions5.9%
7Jewish0.2%
8Other0.8%

Christianity has the largest following with approximately 31% of the global population. Muslims make up the second-largest religious group, accounting for 23.2% of the world’s population.

Roughly 16.4% of the global population is unaffiliated with a religion. This figure exceeds the percentage of people who identify with Hinduism (15%), Buddhism (7.1%), Folk Religions (5.9%), or Judaism (0.2%).

The World’s Religions from Oldest to Newest

Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world, originating in the Indus River Valley (modern-day Pakistan) circa 7000 BCE.

While Judaism came after Hinduism, it is thought to be the oldest of the three monotheistic Abrahamic faiths, making it older than Christianity and Islam.

It began circa 2000 BCE in the Southern Levant (modern-day Israel, Palestine, and Jordan). By contrast, Christianity was founded in the 1st century and began as a movement within Judaism.

Scholars typically date the creation of Islam to the 7th century, making it the youngest of the world’s major religions on this list. Islam was established in Mecca (modern-day Saudi-Arabia).

One religion that’s not included on this list is Sikhism. Founded in the late 15th century, it’s relatively new, especially compared to other religions like Hinduism or Judaism. Yet, despite being new, Sikhism has a large following—according to some estimates, there are over 25 million Sikhs worldwide.

What are Folk Religions?

A folk religion is defined as an ethnic or cultural practice that exists outside the theological doctrine of organized religions.

Lacking sacred texts, Folk religions are more concerned with spirituality than rituals or rites. Examples of Folk religions include Native American traditions, Chinese folk religions, and traditional African religions.

Since Folk religions are less institutionalized, they are especially challenging to measure and often excluded from surveys. With that said, an estimated 5.9% of the global population (approximately 430 million people) practice a Folk religion.

The Fastest-Growing Religions

While Islam is the newest of the big five religions, it’s currently the world’s fastest-growing one too. For context, here’s the estimated percent change among the seven religion categories, between 2015 and 2060:

RankReligious GroupEst. % change in population size (2015-2060)
1Muslims70%
2Christians34%
3Hindus27%
4Jews15%
5Folk religions5%
6Unaffiliated3%
7Buddhists-7%

Islam’s rapid growth means it may surpass Christianity as the world’s largest religion within the next half-century. What’s causing this growth?

According to Pew Research Center, the main reason is simply demographics—on average, Muslim women have 2.9 children, which the average of all non-Muslims is 2.2.

Muslims are also concentrated in Africa and the Middle East, the two regions predicted to have the highest population increases in the next few decades.

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Education

Ranked: The Most Attractive Countries for University Grads (2010-2023)

Canada has fluctuated between first and third place since 2010 as the place most graduates would want to move to.

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Most Attractive Countries For University Graduates

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This graphic visualizes the top 20 most attractive countries for university graduates in 2010-12, 2013-15, 2016-18, and 2021-23, ranked by The Economist’s Footloose index.

The index is based on data from the Gallup World Poll, an annual survey of 150,000 people around the world, and asks if people want to move abroad and, if so, where.

Only respondents who said they had completed an undergraduate degree were included. This first graphic shows rankings by potential total net immigration.

Where Do University Grads Want to Move to the Most?

Below, we show the top 20 countries that respondents with a undergraduate degree said they would want to move to, by total rankings, and across the four time periods.

CategoryRank2010-122013-152016-182021-23
Total1🇨🇦 Canada🇺🇸 United States🇨🇦 Canada🇨🇦 Canada
Total2🇺🇸 United States🇦🇺 Australia🇦🇺 Australia🇦🇺 Australia
Total3🇦🇺 Australia🇨🇦 Canada🇺🇸 United States🇺🇸 United States
Total4🇩🇪 Germany🇩🇪 Germany🇩🇪 Germany🇩🇪 Germany
Total5🇪🇸 Spain🇪🇸 Spain🇪🇸 Spain🇪🇸 Spain
Total6🇬🇧 Britain🇫🇷 France🇨🇭 Switzerland🇨🇭 Switzerland
Total7🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia🇨🇭 Switzerland🇫🇷 France🇳🇿 New Zealand
Total8🇨🇭 Switzerland🇸🇪 Sweden🇸🇪 Sweden🇫🇷 France
Total9🇳🇿 New Zealand🇳🇿 New Zealand🇳🇿 New Zealand🇮🇹 Italy
Total10🇸🇪 Sweden🇬🇧 Britain🇸🇬 Singapore🇸🇪 Sweden
Total11🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates🇸🇬 Singapore🇳🇴 Norway🇩🇰 Denmark
Total12🇸🇬 Singapore🇳🇱 Netherlands🇩🇰 Denmark🇫🇮 Finland
Total13🇫🇷 France🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia🇮🇹 Italy🇵🇹 Portugal
Total14🇳🇴 Norway🇦🇹 Austria🇳🇱 Netherlands🇬🇧 Britain
Total15🇮🇹 Italy🇳🇴 Norway🇵🇹 Portugal🇸🇬 Singapore
Total16🇩🇰 Denmark🇩🇰 Denmark🇫🇮 Finland🇳🇴 Norway
Total17🇫🇮 Finland🇮🇹 Italy🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates🇳🇱 Netherlands
Total18🇦🇹 Austria🇹🇭 Thailand🇦🇹 Austria🇦🇹 Austria
Total19🇮🇪 Ireland🇫🇮 Finland🇮🇪 Ireland🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
Total20🇳🇱 Netherlands🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates🇬🇧 Britain🇦🇲 Armenia

Since 2010, Canada has consistently ranked between first and third as the most desirable destination for graduates.

According to The Economist’s latest estimates, around 17 million graduates would choose to move to Canada if given the opportunity.

When factoring in Canadians looking to leave, Canada’s net gain would be approximately 15 million graduates.

In comparison, Australia would see nearly 9 million new graduates, while the U.S. could attract a larger talent pool of 21 million. However, with 16 million graduates potentially leaving, America’s net gain would be much lower at just 5 million.

According to The Economist’s analysis, Canada is the most attractive country to Mexicans, while Australia and America attract Chinese workers.

Canada is generally an attractive destination for skilled workers due to the country’s relatively high immigration targets, range of immigration pathways, support for newcomers, and reputation as a welcoming and inclusive country for immigrants.

Most Attractive Countries, Relative to Grad Population

When looking at per graduate rankings, the countries fluctuate a bit in the standings.

This graphic shows potential net immigration relative to each country’s existing graduate population (e.g., a 100% increase means doubling the current number of graduates through migration).

A graphic showing where grads want to move to the most per graduate

By per graduate net immigration, New Zealand has been the destination of choice since 2010.

Similar to Canada, New Zealand has generally welcoming immigration policies, such as robust post-study work visa programs.

In the table below, we show the top 20 countries that respondents with a undergraduate degree said they would want to move to, by per graduate rankings, and across the four time periods.

CategoryRank2010-122013-152016-182021-23
Per graduate1🇳🇿 New Zealand🇳🇿 New Zealand🇳🇿 New Zealand🇳🇿 New Zealand
Per graduate2🇪🇸 Spain🇪🇸 Spain🇩🇰 Denmark🇩🇰 Denmark
Per graduate3🇸🇬 Singapore🇦🇺 Australia🇪🇸 Spain🇫🇮 Finland
Per graduate4🇦🇺 Australia🇸🇪 Sweden🇦🇺 Australia🇨🇦 Canada
Per graduate5🇩🇰 Denmark🇸🇬 Singapore🇸🇬 Singapore🇪🇸 Spain
Per graduate6🇨🇦 Canada🇨🇭 Switzerland🇨🇦 Canada🇨🇭 Switzerland
Per graduate7🇨🇭 Switzerland🇩🇰 Denmark🇸🇪 Sweden🇦🇺 Australia
Per graduate8🇫🇮 Finland🇨🇦 Canada🇳🇴 Norway🇵🇹 Portugal
Per graduate9🇸🇪 Sweden🇦🇹 Austria🇫🇮 Finland🇦🇲 Armenia
Per graduate10🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates🇫🇮 Finland🇨🇭 Switzerland🇸🇬 Singapore
Per graduate11🇳🇴 Norway🇳🇴 Norway🇦🇹 Austria🇸🇪 Sweden
Per graduate12🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia🇩🇪 Germany🇵🇹 Portugal🇦🇹 Austria
Per graduate13🇦🇹 Austria🇫🇷 France🇮🇪 Ireland🇳🇴 Norway
Per graduate14🇩🇪 Germany🇳🇱 Netherlands🇮🇹 Italy🇮🇹 Italy
Per graduate15🇮🇪 Ireland🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia🇩🇪 Germany🇮🇪 Ireland
Per graduate16🇬🇧 Britain🇮🇪 Ireland🇫🇷 France🇫🇷 France
Per graduate17🇮🇹 Italy🇺🇸 United States🇳🇱 Netherlands🇬🇷 Greece
Per graduate18🇰🇼 Kuwait🇹🇭 Thailand🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates🇩🇪 Germany
Per graduate19🇨🇿 Czechia🇮🇹 Italy🇮🇱 Israel🇳🇱 Netherlands
Per graduate20🇺🇸 United States🇨🇿 Czechia🇨🇿 Czechia🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

Portugal experienced one of the most significant jumps in rankings, moving from 24th in 2010 to 13th in 2023 for total rankings, and from 25th to 8th for per graduate rankings during the same period.

This meant that between 2010-12 and 2021-23, the share of global graduates interested in moving to Portugal tripled, marking the largest increase of any country in the index.

The country has focused heavily on positioning itself as an attractive base for remote workers, with polices like the Digital Nomad Visa.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about the trends behind when and where people move, check out this graphic shows the average age at which Europeans leave their parental homes.

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