Most And Least Religious People Countries in the World

Religion in Ethiopia

The famous and trustable cross-national Pew Research Center overviews give an account of age holes in religious duty can likewise be utilized to take a gander at the manners in which religious recognition fluctuates among all grown-ups – characterized as individual’s ages 18 and more established – in various areas of the world. The four standard proportions of religious duty (association, the significance of religion, venerate participation and recurrence of the petition) utilized in this report may not be similarly reasonable for every single religious group.

This ranking is done by Pew Research and based on answers given by the public when they were asked about their religious affiliations.

most religious countries in the world

Let’s have a look at the most religious countries in the world.

Rank Country The population that feels religious (%)
1 Ethiopia 99
2 Malawi 99
3 Niger 99
4 Sri Lanka 99
5 Yemen 98
6 Burundi 98
7 Djibouti 98
8 Mauritania 98
9 Somalia 97
10 Afghanistan 97
11 Comoros 97
12 Egypt 97
13 Guinea 97
14 Laos 97
15 Myanmar 97
16 Cambodia 96
17 Cameroon 96
18 Jordan 96
19 Senegal 96
20 Chad, Ghana, Mali, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Zambia 95


Religion in Ethiopia

Ethiopia once known as the Kingdom of Aksum was one of the very first Christian countries. This country declared themselves a Christian nation officially Ethiopia they officially announced themselves Christian country in the fourth century and it is the only country in the African region to have survived Islamic expansion is a religiously diverse country. When asked if they feel religious association to any faith 99 percent said they do feel religious.

Majority population (62.8%) is composed of Orthodox Christians and Catholics. 33% of the population are Muslims, and there also exist Jews in the minority. As per reports published by the national census in 2007 more than 32 million people (43.5%) identified themselves as Orthodox Christians, more than 25 million claimed to be Muslims which makes 33.9% of the population, and 13.7 million (18.6%) were protestants, and 2.6% belonged to traditional religious groups. Hindus, Jews, atheists were also counted as “others.”


Ninety-nine percent of the Malawi population feels religious. It is a Christian majority country with a considerable Muslim population near Mozambique. This landlocked country shares borders with Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique. It is one of the smallest African countries. 44 % of the population is Protestant Christians, 19% are Sunni Muslims, 18% are Roman Catholic Christians, 135 are other Christians, and 6% belong to other religious groups.

This 6 percent still believes in spirits, rebirth, folk beliefs, magic, and different gods. They also practice witchcraft which is widespread. These people think these practices are essential for the harmony of nature. The people of Malawi practice some very unusual methods like paying men to have sex with widows to avoid harm to the families and sex with young girls to get them ready for marriage. A 45-year-old man was imprisoned for two to have unprotected sex with women as a part of traditions. Government is thus trying to enforce laws to get them out of such practices.


Religion in Nigeria

Ninety-nine percent of Nigerians identify themselves as followers of some religion of believers of some faith. The religious affiliation traces back to their ethnicities. Northern states are dominated by Sunni Muslims while southern groups are Christians. Fifty percent of the population is Muslims, 40 percent is Christians, and 10 percent belong to minorities. There is a religious war going on in Nigeria since 1953. The Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria is trying to force sharia as national law in Nigeria. Thousands have been killed and tortured to turn their faiths to Muslim faiths.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a Buddhists majority country. The government has given many privileges to Buddhism school of thought in the constitution for example protection and maintenance of Buddhist Darma. The government has, but given all citizens freedom of religion and right to equality, it is a different case that the government officials act opposite supporting Buddhism. According to 2011 census, 70.2% of Sri Lankans are Theravada Buddhists, 12.6% were Hindus, 9.7% were Muslims (mainly Sunni) and 7.4% Christians (6.1% Roman Catholic and 1.3% other Christian). Ninety-nine percent of Sri Lankans say that religion is a compulsory part of their lives.


Religion in Yemen

Yemen is overwhelmingly a Muslim nation, with the most common Islamic teachings there being those of either the Shafi’i Sunni or Zaidi Shia doctrines. It is a Muslim majority country with the majority being Shafi’i Sunni and Zaidi Shia Muslims. Islam is the official religion of Yemen, and the constitution is made under the basic principles of Sharia law. The law gives their citizens freedom of religion, but unlike Muslims, other religious groups require state permission to build a religious practice place. The main religious tension in Yemen is Shia Sunni conflicts which are widespread. Forty-four percent of the Yemeni population is Shia Muslims. The minorities include Christians, Jews, and followers of Baha’i faith, Hindus and other minor religious groups.


Burundi is a religiously diverse country with various religious schools of thoughts being practiced. It is a Christian majority country by being the country with the highest percentage of Catholics as compared to any other African country. About 86 percent of the population of Burundi 7.9% follow traditional religions, Christian(62.1% being Roman Catholic, 23.9% being Protestant), and 2.5 percent is Muslim (mainly Sunni). In contrast, another estimate in the Encyclopedia of Africa states 67 percent of the Burundi people are Christians, 10% are Muslims, and 23% follow traditional religions. People are given religious freedom, but many churches were closed under government influencers.


This is a country with a big majority of Muslims and Christian minorities. Ninety-eight percent of the population feels they are associated with some faith and that it is a big part of their lives. Ninety-four percent of the population identify themselves as Muslims while 6 percent claim to be Christians. The entire Muslim majority belongs to the Sunni school of thought. The Christians of Djibouti are identified as Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics.


Islam is the national language of Mauritania, and 100 percent of the population is identified as Muslims. A trace amount of Christians also live in Mauritania but are mostly foreigners. There are more than 5000 Roman Catholics in the country. There are also trace amounts of Jews living in the country.


Religion in Somalia

Somalia is an Islamic state. This African country has a population of 14.5 people of which 99.8 percent identify themselves as Muslims according to the Pew research. Sharia is the foundation of law and order of Somalia. Anything against sharia is not included in the constitution.


Ninety-nine percent of Afghanis are Muslims of which 80 percent are Sunni Muslims, and the remaining 20 percent constitutes of Shias. There are Hindu and Sikh minorities too which constitute the 1 percent of the population. There is a long history of Shia Sunni conflicts in Afghanistan.

The least religious countries in the world

There are some countries whose population identifies themselves as atheists, non-believers of a religious school of thought. When asked if they feel religious the majority answered no. It is noticeable that these countries are the most developed.

most unreligious countries in the world

Let’s have a look at the most unreligious countries in the world.

Rank Country The population that feels religious (%)
1 China 7
2 Japan 13
3 Estonia 16
4 Sweden 19
5 Norway 21
6 Czech Republic 23
7 Hong Kong 26
8 Netherlands 26
9 Israel 30
10 United Kingdom 30
11 New Zealand 33
12 Australia 34
13 Azerbaijan 34
14 Belarus 34
15 Cuba 34
16 Germany 34
17 Vietnam 34
18 Spain 37
19 Switzerland 38
20 Albania, Austria, Hungary and Luxembourg 39

This ranking clearly shows that the prosperous countries are the least religious. The world’s most populous country is the least religious country-China; it is also the biggest supernatural power. The number of atheists is also increasing every day as people are starting to mentally challenge religious practices and bondages.