---
title: "Living as Majorities and Minorities"
description: "Most Christians live in countries where Christians are in the majority, but nearly 208 million (10%) live in countries where they are a religious minority. If all these Christians were in a single country, it would have the second-largest Christian population in the world, after the United States. Of the 232 countries and territories included […]"
date: "2011-12-19"
authors:
  - name: "No Author"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/12/19/global-christianity-majorities-and-minorities/"
---

# Living as Majorities and Minorities

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/07/Christianity-300x2004.png)

Most Christians live in countries where Christians are in the majority, but nearly 208 million (10%) live in countries where they are a religious minority. If all these Christians were in a single country, it would have the second-largest Christian population in the world, after the United States.

[PDF]

![gc-maj/min-1](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/07/christianity-graphic-09.png)

![gc-maj/min-2](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/07/christianity-graphic-10.png)

[]Of the 232 countries and territories included in this study, 158 have Christian majorities. However, most of the Christian-majority countries are relatively small: about seven-in-ten have fewer Christians than the Christian-minority country Vietnam (7 million Christians).

All 51 countries in the Americas have a Christian majority. In Europe, 46 of the 50 countries have a Christian majority, as do 34 of the 51 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and 27 of the 60 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.[7](#_ftn1) Christians are a minority, however, in all 20 countries in the Middle East-North Africa.

---

**Footnotes:**

[]7 The newly independent country of South Sudan, which has a Christian majority, is considered part of sub-Saharan Africa in this report. [(return to text)](#_ftnref1)

---

**Next:** [Christian Traditions](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/12/19/global-christianity-traditions.md)