This list shows data for countries whose names begin with the letter
rule">
A to D.
Those countries beginning with
D to M and N to Z are
listed separately.
In the table below:
Data is taken from the World Almanac and book of facts.
Numbers are shown as percentage of the total population. 1,2
The following abbreviations are used:
A Atheist
B Buddhist
C Christian
EL Evangelical Lutheran
H Hindu
I Indigenous, Aboriginal, Animist, Traditional faith groups
J Judaism
M Muslim
N None
O Orthodox Christian
P Protestant Christian
R Roman Catholic Christian
Sh Shi'a Muslim
Su Sunni Muslim
T Taoism
Data should be taken with a grain of salt:
Normally, the only source of information about the religious
makeup of a country comes from that country's government census.
Sometimes political concerns influence the government's reporting.
Figures for Sudan shows no Christian population. Yet a civil war has been active there
for years between Muslims, Animists and Christians.
Figures for Turkey show that everyone in that country is Muslim. Yet they have
small
Christian and Baha'i minorities.
The official Egyptian government figures indicate that
non-Muslims total only 6% of the population, and that most of them
are Coptic Christians. Yet Copt-Net claims that 16% of the
Egyptian population are Copts. 3
Data is based on self-reporting. That is, if a person considers themselves to be a
Christian, they are counted as a Christian. Various religious groups use other criteria
for membership.
The Encyclopedia of the Nations contains information about
193 countries in the world as well as information about the United
Nations and its associated agencies. See:
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/
It is important to realize that these data are typically based on surveys of adults. In many countries, the vast majority of citizens are only nominally affiliated with a religious group. In much of Europe, less than 15% of the population actually attend church or other religious establishment weekly. In the U.S., about 40% say that they attend weekly; only 20% actually do. In Canada the corresponding numbers are about 20% and 10%
Philip M. Parker, "Religious Cultures of the world,"
(1997). Read reviews or
order this book "Over
26,000 statistics are provided for over 70 religious groups covering a
number of social, economic, and business variables. A significant
review of literature is also included."
"The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt,"
The Coptic Network, at: http://www.coptic.net/
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