These are some of the highlights from the special poll conducted by Gallup International Association (GIA) in 61 countries covering over two thirds of the global population (and more than 90% of those countries which are free to conduct and publish opinion research). The poll celebrates GIA’s 75th anniversary.
Religious affiliation around the world.
Two thirds (62%) of respondents around the world say they are religious, with one in four saying that they are not religious. Atheists account for 10%. The rest are not sure.
A
few
years
ago
(2016),
GIA
asked
the
same
question.
Overall
attitudes
towards
religion
seem
relatively
stable,
as
in
2016
again
two
thirds
(62%)
said
they
were
religious
and
25%
that
they
were
not.
Atheists
were
9%.
It’s
a
similar
pattern
in
the
same
questions
also
asked
in
2014.
Our
current
wave
of
polling
further
confirms
that
age,
income,
and
education
seem
to
be
important
defining
demographics
for
one’s
religiosity.
The
higher
the
income
and
education,
the
lower
the
likelihood
is
that
someone
will
self-define
as
a
religious
person.
The
lower
the
age
–
the
higher
is
the
declared
religiosity.
People in EU and East Asia and Oceania are the least religious with shares of around 40% confirming religiosity. People of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and non-EU European countries on the other hand express much stronger religious affiliation (as much as 90% in some countries)
These attitudes in different regions remain stable. In 2014 and 2016, Africa and the Middle East stood out as most religious regions, according to people’s personal declarations. Western Europe, Asia, Oceania were regions where people defined themselves much less as religious. Asia was once again the region with the largest number of atheists.
Some major countries such as USA and Russia show a slight shift in their citizens’ religious attitudes over recent years. For instance, 56% (US) and 70% (Russia) of people in 2014 said they were religious. Two years later the US remains the same while Russia drops to 61%. Today the share of those who define themselves as religious is almost equal – 60% in the States and 62% in Russia.
Our most religious countries in the survey now are Kenya, Senegal, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kosovo. Least religious are people in Japan, Czech Republic, Sweden and Vietnam.
