<p>Muslims constitute 23 percent of the 6.8 billion global population, according to a new study in 232 countries and territories. Indonesia and Pakistan are home to over 200 million and 174 million Muslims. <br /><br />"The new study is based on the best available data," said the Forum on Religion and Public Life, a unit of US-based think tank Pew Research Centre, which conducted the study. <br /><br />"Previously published estimates of the size of the global Muslim population have ranged widely from 1 billion to 1.8 billion," said the centre, which analysed over 1,500 sources, including census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys. <br />India is home to 160.95 million Muslims, representing 13.4 percent of the country's population, or 10.3 percent of their global numbers. <br /><br />India also tops the list of countries with the largest number of Muslims living as a minority community. India is one of four countries accounting for most of the global Shia population.<br /><br />The key findings of the study, released here late Wednesday, are: <br />- India has the third largest population of Muslims worldwide <br />- China has more Muslims than Syria <br />- Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined <br />- While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60 percent of the global Muslim population is in Asia <br />- Middle East and North Africa account for 20 percent of the Muslim population <br />- The Middle East-North Africa region has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries <br /><br />- More than half of the 20 countries and territories in Middle East-North Africa region have populations that are approximately 95 percent Muslim or more <br />- More than 300 million Muslims, or a fifth of the world's Muslim population, live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion <br />- These minority Muslim populations are often quite large <br />- Of the total Muslim population, 10-13 percent are Shias and 87-90 percent are Sunnis <br />- Most Shias, between 68-80 percent, live in just four countries, namely Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq <br /><br />The new report has an executive summary, maps and charts to illustrate the geographic distribution of Muslims, explanations of the study's methodologies and a list of data sources by country. <br />Indonesia accounts for the largest number of Muslims at 202.87 million, or 88.2 percent of the country's population, followed by Pakistan with 174.08 million, or 96.3 percent of the population. <br />Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, Algeria and Morocco, in that order, make up the 10 countries with the largest population of Muslims.</p>
<p>Muslims constitute 23 percent of the 6.8 billion global population, according to a new study in 232 countries and territories. Indonesia and Pakistan are home to over 200 million and 174 million Muslims. <br /><br />"The new study is based on the best available data," said the Forum on Religion and Public Life, a unit of US-based think tank Pew Research Centre, which conducted the study. <br /><br />"Previously published estimates of the size of the global Muslim population have ranged widely from 1 billion to 1.8 billion," said the centre, which analysed over 1,500 sources, including census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys. <br />India is home to 160.95 million Muslims, representing 13.4 percent of the country's population, or 10.3 percent of their global numbers. <br /><br />India also tops the list of countries with the largest number of Muslims living as a minority community. India is one of four countries accounting for most of the global Shia population.<br /><br />The key findings of the study, released here late Wednesday, are: <br />- India has the third largest population of Muslims worldwide <br />- China has more Muslims than Syria <br />- Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined <br />- While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60 percent of the global Muslim population is in Asia <br />- Middle East and North Africa account for 20 percent of the Muslim population <br />- The Middle East-North Africa region has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries <br /><br />- More than half of the 20 countries and territories in Middle East-North Africa region have populations that are approximately 95 percent Muslim or more <br />- More than 300 million Muslims, or a fifth of the world's Muslim population, live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion <br />- These minority Muslim populations are often quite large <br />- Of the total Muslim population, 10-13 percent are Shias and 87-90 percent are Sunnis <br />- Most Shias, between 68-80 percent, live in just four countries, namely Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq <br /><br />The new report has an executive summary, maps and charts to illustrate the geographic distribution of Muslims, explanations of the study's methodologies and a list of data sources by country. <br />Indonesia accounts for the largest number of Muslims at 202.87 million, or 88.2 percent of the country's population, followed by Pakistan with 174.08 million, or 96.3 percent of the population. <br />Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, Algeria and Morocco, in that order, make up the 10 countries with the largest population of Muslims.</p>
