Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Download the Methodology as a PDF (180 KB, 17pages) This study provides comprehensive demographic estimates of the size and distribution of eight major religious groups in the 232 countries and territories for which the United Nations Population Division provides general population estimates as of 2010.16 It includes estimates for Christians, Muslims, the religiously unaffiliated, Hindus, […]
Majorities in most of the predominantly Muslim nations surveyed remain worried about Islamic extremism in their countries, especially in Lebanon, but concern about extremism has declined sharply in Turkey since 2011. Few express positive views of extremist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Still, both groups have substantial minority support in several countries. Al Qaeda and the […]
Islamic extremism remains a pressing issue for most Pakistanis, although concern has ebbed somewhat over the last few years. Today, about half of the public is either very or somewhat worried that extremist groups could take control of their country. Only about one-in-three now support using the military to fight extremists, down substantially from three […]
Most Egyptians continue to believe that Islam is playing a positive role in their country’s politics, although the percentage who say its role is negative has increased from a miniscule 2% in 2010 to 25% today. Egyptians clearly want Islam to play a role in shaping the nation’s laws – indeed, a majority says Egypt’s […]
The Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project has done extensive polling throughout the world, including in some Asian nations. The results of this research provide a window into the religious affiliation and commitment of Asians who have not emigrated and how they compare with Asians living in the U.S. In some cases, Asian Americans show […]
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is widely unpopular in neighboring countries and the vast majority of Jordanians, Egyptians, Tunisians and Turks would like to see him step down. Even though many would like to see Assad out of office, there is limited support for tougher international economic sanctions or Arab military intervention, and very little support for Western military action.
Between mid-2009 and mid-2010, religious restrictions rose not only in countries that began the year with high or very high restrictions, such as Indonesia and Nigeria, but also in many countries that began with low or moderate restrictions, such as Switzerland and the United States. The report looks at restrictions due to government actions as well as acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations and social groups.
The following list includes brief descriptions of some religious groups and other terms used in the survey report that may be unfamiliar to readers. Related to Buddhism Jodo Shinshu Meaning “True Pure Land School,” Jodo Shinshu is a Japanese branch of Mahayana Buddhism. Shinran, a disciple of the Buddhist monk Honan, established the branch, which […]