Islam is the world's second largest religion after Christianity. According to a 2009 demographic study, Islam has 1.57 billion adherents, making up 23% of the world population.[1][2]
Islam is the predominant religion in the Middle East, in northern Africa[3][4], and in some parts of Asia.[5] Large communities of Muslims are also found in China, Eastern Europe, and Russia. Other parts of the world host large Muslim immigrant communities; in Western Europe, for instance, Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity.[6]
Approximately 50 countries are Muslim-majority.[2] Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia, with over 683 million adherents in such countries as Indonesia (the largest Muslim country by population, home to 15.6% of the world's Muslims[7]), Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.[2][8] About 20% of Muslims live in Arab countries.[9] In the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of Turkey and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries; in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities.[8]
A demographic study conducted by the Pew Research Center in October 2009[1][2] found that there are 1.57 billion Muslims around the world, accounting for roughly 1 in 4 people. The study found more Muslims in Germany than in Lebanon and more in China than in Syria.[10]
Most Muslims are Sunni (87-90%), while the vast majority of the remainder (10-13%) are Shi'a.[11]
Contents |
|
FOXNews
The country still has blasphemy laws on the books that forbid saying or writing anything against Islam or the Koran. Punishment can include death. ...
and more »
