Key facts as India surpasses China as the world’s most populous country
India is poised to become the world’s most populous country this year; its population has more than doubled since 1950.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
India is poised to become the world’s most populous country this year; its population has more than doubled since 1950.
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.
Americans tend to say religion’s influence in public life is shrinking, and most see this as a bad thing.
Large numbers of Americans in many different religious groups express concern about fewer people getting married.
46% of Americans report that they’ve been visited by a dead family member in a dream, while 31% report having been visited by dead relatives in some other form.
Nearly a quarter of countries used force to prevent religious gatherings during the pandemic; other government restrictions and social hostilities related to religion remained fairly stable.
Most Americans say it’s not necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values, according to a spring 2022 survey.
A growing share of U.S. adults say religion is gaining influence, but most still want churches to stay out of politics, a 2026 survey finds.
Based on formal religious identity, China is the least religious country in the world – with just 10% of Chinese adults self-identifying with a religion.
While there has been a decades-long decline in the Christian share of U.S. adults, 88% of the voting members in the new 118th Congress identify as Christian. That is only a few points lower than their share in the late 1970s.
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