Muslims lead global fertility rates, fuelling population growth: report
A Pew study finds that Muslims have the highest global fertility rate, driving the fastest population growth among all major religions.
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The number of Muslims increasing more than all other religions combined, a new study has found [Getty]
Islam is the fastest-growing religious group in the world, with the number of Muslims increasing by more than all other religions combined over the last decade, according to a new study by the Pew Research Centre.
The growth, the study found, is primarily driven by natural demographic factors, namely higher fertility rates and a younger average age, rather than conversion.
"Most of the change in Muslim numbers comes from births, not people converting into or out of the faith," the report noted.
Pew analysed data from 2,700 sources, including censuses, population registers, and surveys, covering the period between 2010 and 2020, and drawing from 201 countries.
The findings show that the global Muslim population grew by around 347 million people during that time.
Muslims, on average, are younger and have more children than followers of other faiths, the report added.
Christianity sees decline
While Christianity remains the world’s largest religion, Pew found that the global Christian population declined by approximately 1.8 percent since 2010.
Christians still make up the majority in 60 percent of countries and territories surveyed, but the population shrank by at least five percent in 40 of them, particularly in Europe and the Americas.
Christianity declined by 8.8 percent in Europe, 10.8 percent in North America, and most sharply in sub-Saharan Africa, where numbers fell by 31.2 percent.
Pew also noted that for every one adult who joined Christianity in the decade studied, three left the religion. Similarly, more people left Buddhism and Hinduism than joined them during the same period.
Muslim growth concentrated in majority-Muslim countries
The surge in Muslim population was largely observed in Muslim-majority countries, with notable growth recorded in places like Benin, Lebanon, and Kazakhstan.
Conversely, the Muslim population declined in countries such as Oman and Tanzania.
Among all religious groups, Islam was the only one that saw more adults enter than leave during the period covered.
Pew has previously projected that Islam could become the world's largest religion by 2075 if current trends continue.
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