The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050

[cbayer]

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/

April 2, 2015

Why Muslims Are Rising Fastest and the Unaffiliated Are Shrinking as a Share of the World’s Population

The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion. If current trends continue, by 2050 …
The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world.

-Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion – though increasing in countries such as the United States and France – will make up a declining share of the world’s total population.

- The global Buddhist population will be about the same size it was in 2010, while the Hindu and Jewish populations will be larger than they are today.

- In Europe, Muslims will make up 10% of the overall population.



more at link

[Jim__]

1. The map on projected population growth is interesting.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia are all in the ">=" 2% growth - the highest growth bracket. I wonder if the projection factors in the recent ravages of war in these countries.

[cbayer]

2. It sure is. There are lots of really interesting charts and graphs in this report.

I wonder if there is a reactionary increase in reproduction during times of population loss.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Uh no, high birth rates are driven by poverty and religiosity.

See: http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-main-factors/
for example.

There is also some evidence that across a variety of religious traditions, women who are more religious have higher fertility rates than less-religious women. This suggests that religiosity in general, rather than Islam in particular, may boost the number of children per woman.8 In short, Islamic beliefs may directly or indirectly influence the size of Muslim families, but religion does not operate in isolation from other forces; fertility rates appear to be driven by a complex mixture of cultural, social, economic, religious and other factors.