THE POPULATION OF MUSLIMS
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Islam today is a global religion. It is no longer confined to Muslim major=
ity countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Indonesia. Small but signific=
ant communities exist across Europe, the Americas and Australasia. For som=
e time Muslims have been an invisible presence in the western world but one=
decade into the 21st century Muslims are no longer curiosities. They are =
as much at home in London Paris or Chicago as they are in Istanbul, Damascu=
s and Jakarta.=20
In 2011 Muslims in the West also no longer exist in immigrant communities b=
ut are second, third and fourth generation citizens participating in profes=
sional and civic life. Islam is said to be the fastest growing religion in=
the United States. It is estimated that more than 1 million Americans hav=
e converted to Islam. In recent years due to an Islamic revival, believing=
and practicing Muslims have established a visible presence not only in Isl=
amic societies but also in the West.=20
What do the latest data and statistics tell us about the number of Muslims =
in the world. Where do they live? How many are born into the Muslim faith =
and how many choose to convert to Islam? The majority of the following stat=
istics and data come from the Pew Research Centre.
According to the Pew[1] Islam is growing about 2.9% per year. This is fas=
ter than the total world population which increases about 2.3% annually. T=
he world=92s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35% in the =
next 20 years. In mid 2010 the Pew forum estimated that there were 1.57 bi=
llion Muslims in the world. This represents 22% of the world=92s populatio=
n. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, beaten only by Chris=
tianity which represents 33% of the world=92s population with a little over=
2 billion adherents.=20
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life stated that Islam is the fastest-gr=
owing religion in Europe. Driven by immigration and high birth rates, the =
number of Muslims on the continent has tripled in the last 30 years. Most =
demographers forecast a similar or even higher rate of growth in the coming=
decades.=20
If current trends continue 79 countries will have a million or more Muslim =
inhabitants in 2030, up from 72 countries in 2011. The seven new countries=
are expected to be Belgium, Canada, Congo, Djibouti, Guinea Bissau, Nether=
lands and Togo. About 60% of the world=92s Muslims will continue to live i=
n the Asia-Pacific region, while about 20% will live in the Middle East and=
North Africa, as is the case in 2010. One of the biggest changes expected=
is that Pakistan will almost certainly surpass Indonesia as the country wi=
th the single largest Muslim population. [2]
In 2011 statistics tell us that 74.1% of the world=92s Muslims live in the =
49 countries in which Muslims make up a majority of the population. More t=
han a fifth of all Muslims (23.3%) live in non-Muslim-majority countries in=
the developing world. These minority Muslim populations are often quite l=
arge. India, for example, has the third-largest population of Muslims worl=
dwide. China has more Muslims than Syria, while Russia is home to more Mus=
lims than Jordan and Libya combined. [3] About 3% of the world=92s Muslims=
live in more-developed regions, such as Europe, North America, Australia, =
New Zealand and Japan. [4]
In the United States, the population projections show the number of Muslims=
more than doubling over the next two decades, rising from 2.6 million in 2=
010 to 6.2 million in 2030. The number of Muslims in Canada is expected to=
nearly triple in the next 20 years, from about 940,000 in 2010 to nearly 2=
.7 million in 2030. Muslims are expected to make up 6.6% of Canada=92s tot=
al population in 2030, up from 2.8% today. Argentina is expected to have t=
he third-largest Muslim population in the Americas, after the U.S. and Can=
ada. Argentina, with about 1 million Muslims in 2010, is now in second pla=
ce, behind the U.S.
In Europe as a whole, the Muslim share of the population is expected to gr=
ow by nearly one-third over the next 20 years, rising from 6% of the region=
=92s inhabitants in 2010 to 8% in 2030. In absolute numbers, Europe=92s Mu=
slim population is projected to grow from 44.1 million in 2010 to 58.2 mill=
ion in 2030. Nearly three-in-ten people living in the Asia-Pacific region =
in 2030 (27.3%) will be Muslim, up from about a quarter in 2010 (24.8%) and=
roughly a fifth in 1990 (21.6%). Muslims make up only about 2% of the pop=
ulation in China, but because the country is so populous, its Muslim popula=
tion is expected to be the 19th largest in the world in 2030.
The growth rates of religions are usually due to conversions, higher birth =
and fertility rates and in many countries religions grow because of immigra=
tion. While the global Muslim population is expected to grow at a faster r=
ate than the non-Muslim population, the Muslim population nevertheless is e=
xpected to grow at a slower pace in the next two decades than it did in the=
previous two decades.=20
Finding statistics and data about the number of people converting to Islam =
from other religions or atheism can be difficult. This is usually not a qu=
estion asked by government authorities or research centers. In the next ar=
ticle we will discuss Muslim growth rates across the globe due to conversio=
n and immigration.
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Islam is a global religion, and as we learned in the previous article it is=
no longer confined to those countries we think of as Arabic or Asian. Clo=
se to 1.6 billion people across the globe identify as Muslim. Growth proje=
ctions paint a picture of unprecedented growth, faster than the world popul=
ation growth. 2011 statistics tell us that 74.1% of the world=92s Muslims =
live in the 49 countries in which Muslims make up a majority of the populat=
ion. More than a fifth of all Muslims (23.3%) live in non-Muslim-majority =
countries in the developing world, and about 3% of the world's Muslims live=
in more-developed regions, such as Europe, North America, and Australia. =
Where in fact do these 3% of Muslims come from?
Immigration and conversion account for a large percentage of Muslims living=
in predominantly western countries. Governments tend to keep strict immig=
ration records however religious affiliation is not always recorded. Conve=
rsion statistics are notoriously unreliable but do reveal that the number o=
f people converting to Islam is also experiencing a high growth rate. From=
across the globe and from various sources, both Muslim and non Muslim, gov=
ernment and nongovernmental, we have collected and collated statistical dat=
a in an effort to present a clear picture of how Muslim growth rates are pr=
oceeding into the second decade of the 21st century.
Let us begin in Australia. According to the 2006 census, 1.7% of the Austr=
alian population identified with Islam, this represents a population growth=
of 20.9% on the 2001 count =96 only Hinduism (55.1%) and =93no religion=94=
(27.5%) had bigger percentage jumps in the same five-year period. Where d=
id this 20% growth rate come from? Apparently 36% were born in Australia, t=
he majority claiming Lebanese, Turkish or broadly defined Arab ancestry. [5=
] Other immigration source countries include the predominantly Muslim Iraq=
, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. However, approximately =
two-fifths of Australia=92s Muslims live in Melbourne, and originate from o=
ver 70 countries. [6] There are no reliable statistics for conversions to =
Islam but mosques across Australia report that conversions take place frequ=
ently.
A report published in January 2011 by the Washington-based Pew Research cen=
tre[7] suggests Muslim numbers in Australia will increase by 80 percent, =
compared with 18 per cent for the population overall, growing from 399,000 =
at present to 714,000. This is due first to higher reproduction rates - Mu=
slim families typically have four or more children, while other Australians=
have one or two - and, second, to migration from Muslim majority countries=
such as mentioned above.
The estimates of how many Muslims live in Europe vary wildly, depending on =
where the statistics are from. It is made even more difficult by the fact =
that they are the largest religious minority in Europe, and Islam is the fa=
stest growing religion. As would be expected Europe=92s Muslim population =
are ethnically and linguistically diverse and Muslim immigrants in Europe h=
ail from a variety of Middle Eastern, African, and Asian countries. Conver=
ts are a tiny subset of the Muslim population, but their numbers are growin=
g. Studies in Germany and France have each estimated around 4,000 conversi=
ons a year in Europe or their respective countries.
In Germany, the estimated 4,000 converts each year[8], can be compared with=
an annual average of 300 in the late 1990s, still, less than 1 percent of =
Germany=92s 3.3 million Muslims are converts. A report by France=92s domes=
tic intelligence agency, published by Le Figaro, estimated last year[9] th=
at there were 30,000 to 50,000 converts in France. The bulk of French Musl=
ims are French citizens, and Islam is France=92s second highest ranked reli=
gion.
Muslims are a minority in the United Kingdom, making up 2.7 per cent of the=
country's total population of some 60 million people. The number of conve=
rts to Islam is, as expected very difficult to either predict or find hard =
data about. One British newspaper however, the Independent, reports that t=
he number of Britons converting to Islam has nearly doubled in the past dec=
ade, despite the fact that the UK has witnessed a rise in Islamophobia. Th=
is is according to a comprehensive study by inter-faith think tank Faith Ma=
tters.
Previous estimates have placed the number of Muslim converts in the UK at b=
etween 14,000 and 25,000, but this study suggests that the real figure coul=
d be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new conversions each year. =
By using data from the Scottish 2001 census - the only survey to ask respon=
dents what their religion was at birth as well as at the time of the survey=
- researchers broke down what proportion of Muslim converts there were and=
then extrapolated the figures for Britain as a whole. [10]
In the United states of America, according to the Pew Research Centre, roug=
hly two-thirds (65%) of adult Muslims living in the United States were born=
elsewhere, and 39% have come to the U.S. since 1990. A relatively large =
proportion of Muslim immigrants are from Arab countries, but many also come=
from Pakistan and other South Asian countries. Among native-born Muslims,=
slightly more than half are African American (20% of U.S. Muslims overall=
), many of whom are converts to Islam. [11]
As is the case in Europe and Australia, researchers say getting accurate es=
timates of converts to Islam is the most difficult challenge of all. Data =
on conversion from another religion to Islam is virtually non-existent, and=
what estimates exist are based on conversion rates to other faiths that ma=
y not apply to the Muslim experience.
Statistics about converts to Islam are much easier to find in Arabian Gulf =
countries where Islamic Cultural Centres keep meticulous records. For inst=
ance in Dubai, Huda Khalfan Al Kaabi, head of the New Muslims Section in th=
e Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) said, 1,365 =
people converted to Islam from January to June 2009 as compared to 878 over=
the same period in 2008. Observing that 3,763 expatriates from 72 countri=
es had converted to Islam in an 18 month period, Al Kaabi said most of them=
were from the Philippines, Russia, China and India.
Globalisation has contributed to the spread of Islam around the world, eith=
er by immigration or conversion. Borders are more fluid than ever before a=
nd many people are able to make clear decisions about where they want to li=
ve and what religion they want to follow. With or without hard statistical=
data it is possible to see clearly that across the globe people are conver=
ting to Islam in large numbers. Islam is a global religion, no longer base=
d on ethnicity or nationality.
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http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/4394/
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http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/4421/
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thank you .
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[1] The Pew Research Centre is an American think tank organization based in=
Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trend=
s shaping the United States and the world.
[2] http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1872/muslim-population-projections-worldwid=
e-fast-growth
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[3] according to Pew reports in 2009
[4] http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1872/muslim-population-projections-worldwid=
e-fast-growth.
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[5] Statistical snapshot on Muslim Australians from a Human Rights and Equa=
l Opportunity Commission (HREOC) fact sheet.
[6]http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/your-ques=
tions/muslim-australians/
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[7] Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life, The Future of =
the Global Muslim Population: Projections for 2010-2030. Using figures fro=
m the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
[8] A study financed by the Interior Ministry and carried out by the Soest-=
based Muslim institute Islam Archive Germany. (2004-5)
[9] http://www.religionnewsblog.com/7916/europe-fears-threat-from-its-conve=
rts-to-islam
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[10] http://faith-
matters.org/resources/publicationsreports/218-report-on-converts-to-islam-i=
n-the-uk-a-minority-within-a-minority
[11]http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/muslim-
americans.pdf