Spanning from bustling megacities in Southeast Asia to remote Saharan villages, nearly one in four people on Earth follows Islam, a global faith that is not only ancient in its origins but also remarkably young and growing in its demographics.
Key Takeaways
- The global Muslim population was estimated at 1.8 billion in 2015, comprising 24% of the world's total population
- Muslims are projected to grow to 2.8 billion by 2050, nearly equal to the world's Christian population at that time
- Indonesia has the largest Muslim population at 229 million as of 2020
- Islam was founded by Prophet Muhammad in Mecca in 610 CE when he received the first revelation
- The Hijra, Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina, occurred in 622 CE, marking year 1 of the Islamic calendar
- The Constitution of Medina was drafted in 622 CE, establishing the first Islamic state
- The Quran consists of 114 chapters (surahs) and 6,236 verses (ayat)
- Tawhid, the oneness of God, is the central doctrine of Islam affirmed 114 times in the Quran
- The Five Pillars of Islam are Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj
- Muslims perform Salat five times daily: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha
- Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca required once in lifetime if able, attracts 2-3 million annually
- Zakat charity is 2.5% of savings annually given to needy
- Sunnis comprise 87-90% of Muslims worldwide, Shias 10-13%
- 49 Muslim-majority countries exist as of 2023
- Organization of Islamic Cooperation has 57 member states representing 1.8 billion Muslims
Islam is a major global religion growing quickly across many countries.
Demographics
- The global Muslim population was estimated at 1.8 billion in 2015, comprising 24% of the world's total population
- Muslims are projected to grow to 2.8 billion by 2050, nearly equal to the world's Christian population at that time
- Indonesia has the largest Muslim population at 229 million as of 2020
- India has the third-largest Muslim population with 200 million adherents in 2023
- About 80% of the world's Muslims live in Asia-Pacific region as of 2020
- Sub-Saharan Africa has 250 million Muslims, representing 30% of the region's population in 2015
- Europe's Muslim population stood at 25.8 million in 2016, or 4.9% of the continent's total
- In the United States, Muslims number about 3.45 million, or 1.1% of the population as of 2017
- Pakistan's Muslim population is 220 million, 96.5% of its total populace in 2023
- Bangladesh has 153 million Muslims, making up 90.4% of its population per 2022 census
- Nigeria has around 100 million Muslims, about 50% of its population in 2020 estimates
- Egypt's population is 90.7 million Muslims, 90% of total in 2023
- Turkey has 84 million Muslims, 99% of population as of 2023
- Iran has 82.5 million Muslims, 99.4% Shia, per 2020 data
- Algeria has 44.7 million Muslims, 99% of population in 2023
- Sudan has 43.5 million Muslims, 97% of population per 2023 estimates
- Iraq has 40.2 million Muslims, 95-98% of total in 2023
- Afghanistan has 38.9 million Muslims, 99.7% in 2023
- Morocco has 37.5 million Muslims, 99% Sunni in 2023
- Saudi Arabia has 35.7 million Muslims, 93% Sunni and 7% Shia per 2023
- Uzbekistan has 34.2 million Muslims, 88% of population in 2023
- Yemen has 30.5 million Muslims, 99.1% in 2023
- Malaysia has 22.9 million Muslims, 63.5% of population per 2020 census
- Niger has 24.2 million Muslims, 99% in 2023
- Mali has 21.9 million Muslims, 95% in 2023
- Senegal has 17.3 million Muslims, 97.6% in 2023
- Somalia has 17.1 million Muslims, 99.8% in 2023
- Syria has 17.1 million Muslims, 87% in 2023 estimates
- Guinea has 13.9 million Muslims, 89.1% in 2023
- Tunisia has 12.0 million Muslims, 99.1% in 2023
Demographics Interpretation
Despite global headlines often focusing on the faith's political hotspots, the real story of Islam is a demographically massive and geographically sprawling tapestry, woven most densely across the Asia-Pacific and Africa, quietly on track to become one of the two great faith populations of the 21st century.
Global Influence
- Sunnis comprise 87-90% of Muslims worldwide, Shias 10-13%
- 49 Muslim-majority countries exist as of 2023
- Organization of Islamic Cooperation has 57 member states representing 1.8 billion Muslims
- Islamic finance assets reached $3.25 trillion in 2021
- Over 1,800 mosques in the United States as of 2018
- Halal food market valued at $2.1 trillion globally in 2022
- 25% of Nobel laureates in scientific fields from 1901-2000 were Muslims
- Muslim countries hold 70% of world's oil reserves
- Arabic is the liturgical language of Islam, spoken by 310 million as first language
- Al-Azhar University in Cairo, founded 970 CE, oldest degree-granting university
- 1.6 billion Muslims perform Hajj-related Umrah annually pre-COVID
- Islamic Development Bank has invested $150 billion in member countries since 1975
- Muslim philanthropy (Zakat) estimated at $500 billion annually worldwide
- Turkey hosts 3.6 million Syrian Muslim refugees as of 2023
- Indonesia, largest Muslim country, has GDP of $1.3 trillion in 2023
- Saudi Arabia spends $100 billion on Hajj infrastructure and services yearly
- Quran translated into 114 languages fully as of 2023
- 42 Muslim countries are members of the UN as of 2023
- Islamic banking grows at 17% annually, faster than conventional banking
- Over 50% of Muslims live in South Asia as of 2020
Global Influence Interpretation
Despite holding immense spiritual, intellectual, and financial capital—from ancient universities to trillions in halal markets and philanthropy—the Muslim world's greatest untapped resource may be unifying its formidable majority Sunnis and substantial minority Shias to fully harness this collective potential.
Historical
- Islam was founded by Prophet Muhammad in Mecca in 610 CE when he received the first revelation
- The Hijra, Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina, occurred in 622 CE, marking year 1 of the Islamic calendar
- The Constitution of Medina was drafted in 622 CE, establishing the first Islamic state
- The Battle of Badr, first major battle between Muslims and Quraysh, took place on March 13, 624 CE
- The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was signed in 628 CE between Muslims and Quraysh
- Conquest of Mecca by Muslims occurred bloodlessly on January 11, 630 CE
- Muhammad died on June 8, 632 CE in Medina
- Abu Bakr was elected first caliph in 632 CE
- Ridda Wars under Abu Bakr lasted from 632-633 CE to unify Arabia
- Umar ibn al-Khattab became second caliph in 634 CE
- Battle of Yarmouk in 636 CE led to Muslim conquest of Syria
- Jerusalem was captured by Muslims in 638 CE under Umar
- Egypt was conquered by Amr ibn al-As in 640 CE
- Uthman ibn Affan became third caliph in 644 CE
- First Fitna civil war began in 656 CE after Uthman's assassination
- Battle of the Camel fought on December 7, 656 CE near Basra
- Ali ibn Abi Talib became fourth caliph in 656 CE
- Battle of Siffin occurred in 657 CE between Ali and Muawiya
- Arbitration at Adhruh in 658 CE during First Fitna
- Kharijites assassinated Ali on January 27, 661 CE
- Muawiya I founded Umayyad Caliphate in 661 CE
- Battle of Karbala on October 10, 680 CE where Husayn ibn Ali was killed
- Abdul Malik ibn Marwan became Umayyad caliph in 685 CE
- Dome of the Rock completed in Jerusalem in 691 CE
- Second Fitna civil war from 680-692 CE
- Umayyad conquest of Hispania began in 711 CE under Tariq ibn Ziyad
- Abbasid Revolution overthrew Umayyads in 750 CE
- Al-Mansur founded Baghdad as capital in 762 CE
- House of Wisdom established in Baghdad around 825 CE
- Battle of Talas in 751 CE between Abbasids and Tang China
- Fatimid Caliphate founded in 909 CE in North Africa
Historical Interpretation
In just over a century, the faith revealed to one man in a desert cave blossomed, through revelation, statecraft, and conquest, into a vast and sophisticated empire that would reshape the world's spiritual and political map forever.
Practices
- Muslims perform Salat five times daily: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha
- Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca required once in lifetime if able, attracts 2-3 million annually
- Zakat charity is 2.5% of savings annually given to needy
- Ramadan fasting from dawn to sunset for 29-30 days
- Eid al-Fitr celebrates end of Ramadan with prayer and feasting
- Eid al-Adha commemorates Ibrahim's sacrifice during Hajj
- Wudu ablution required before prayer, washing face, arms, head, feet
- Qibla direction towards Kaaba in Mecca for all prayers
- Tawaf circumambulation of Kaaba seven times during Hajj/Umrah
- Sa'i walking seven times between Safa and Marwah hills
- Jumu'ah Friday congregational prayer obligatory for men
- Halal dietary laws prohibit pork, alcohol, carrion, blood
- Hijab modest dress, headscarf for women in public
- Nikah Islamic marriage contract with mahr dowry from groom
- Polygyny allowed up to four wives if treated justly
- Dhikr remembrance of God through repetitive phrases
- Itikaf seclusion in mosque during last 10 days of Ramadan
- Laylat al-Qadr Night of Power in last 10 days of Ramadan, better than 1000 months
- Tasbih prayer beads with 33/99 beads for glorifying God
- Adhan call to prayer recited five times daily by muezzin
Practices Interpretation
This relentless five-times-daily recalibration toward Mecca, punctuated by disciplined charity, fasting, and pilgrimage, is the operating system for a devout Muslim life, constantly updating its connection to the divine through a rigorous code of physical devotion.
Theological
- The Quran consists of 114 chapters (surahs) and 6,236 verses (ayat)
- Tawhid, the oneness of God, is the central doctrine of Islam affirmed 114 times in the Quran
- The Five Pillars of Islam are Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj
- Angels in Islam include Jibril (Gabriel), Mika'il (Michael), Israfil, and Azrael
- Four major Sunni schools of jurisprudence: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali
- Jinn are supernatural beings created from smokeless fire, mentioned 29 times in Quran
- Day of Judgment (Yawm al-Qiyamah) features resurrection and accountability
- Prophets in Islam total 124,000, with 25 named in Quran including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad
- Jesus (Isa) is a prophet and messiah in Islam, born to Virgin Mary, will return before Judgment Day
- Muhammad is the final prophet (Seal of the Prophets) as per Quran 33:40
- Sunnah comprises Hadith, the sayings and actions of Muhammad
- Six Articles of Faith: God, angels, scriptures, prophets, Day of Judgment, predestination
- Quran was revealed over 23 years from 610-632 CE in Arabic
- Shia Islam believes in 12 Imams starting with Ali
- Sufism emphasizes inner purification and mysticism within Islam
- Ahmadiyya sect founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, considers him a prophet
- Ibadi Islam, third major branch, predominant in Oman
- Quran has 77,439 words and 323,671 letters in Hafs recitation
Theological Interpretation
The Quran's 114 surahs and 114 affirmations of God's oneness form a meticulously balanced architectural blueprint for a faith where every letter, pillar, and prophet has a divinely appointed place, proving that in Islam, the details are never an afterthought.
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