Four-in-ten countries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019
79 countries and territories out of the 198 studied around the world (40%) had laws or policies in 2019 banning blasphemy.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
79 countries and territories out of the 198 studied around the world (40%) had laws or policies in 2019 banning blasphemy.
In 2020, properties in 102 of the 198 countries and territories in the study were targeted in incidents tied to religion.
Our study analyzes 198 countries and territories and is based on policies and events in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available.
Around a fifth (21%) of the 198 countries evaluated banned at least one religion-related group in 2019, our analysis found.
While many, especially in the U.S., may associate Islam with the Middle East or North Africa, nearly two-thirds of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region.
Although Europe is struggling to manage the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, the countries facing the biggest refugee impacts are the ones closest to the fighting.
A new Pew Research analysis finds that 30 of the world’s countries (15%) belong to a unique group of nations that call for their heads of state to have a particular religious affiliation.
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