Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Short-form data and analysis from Pew Research Center writers and social scientists. To view all our reports and publications, visit our main Publications page.

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Stockton, Alabama, USA - April 22, 2023: Montpelier Methodist Church is pictured in Baldwin County Bicentennial Park in Stockton, Alabama. The church was built in 1895.

How religion declines around the world

Religion in a country tends to decline in three transitional stages that unfold across generations, a new paper using Center data proposes.

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    Growing Inequality in China

    About nine-in-ten (89%) Chinese identify the gap between rich and poor as a major problem and 41% cite it as a very big problem.

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    Chinese Embrace Capitalism

    Seven-in-ten Chinese now say that people are better off in a free market economy, even though this means some may be rich while others are poor

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    Chinese Applaud Beijing Olympics

    The Chinese people are nearly unanimous (96%) in believing China’s hosting of the games will be a success, with 56% saying the effort will be very successful.

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    Travel Advisory

    Six of the 10 countries that Americans most like to go to are countries that like Americans.

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    Political Theater

    Fully 78% of campaign coverage in early 2008 focused on political tactics.

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    Chinese Officials Interested in Religion

    About a third of Chinese government workers and Communist Party officials expressed interest in access to information on religion, the highest level of interest by any occupational group in a 2005 Intermedia survey.

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    Chinese Believers in Supernatural

    A 2005 Pew Research survey found that approximately three-in-five Chinese express a personal belief in the possible existence of one or more supernatural phenomena, religious figures or supernatural beings that are often associated with Confucianism and popular forms of Chinese folk religion.