List of countries by irreligion

Nonreligious population by country, 2010.[1]

Irreligion, which may include deism, agnosticism, ignosticism, anti-religion, atheism, skepticism, ietsism, spiritual but not religious, freethought, anti-theism, apatheism, non-belief, pandeism, secular humanism, non-religious theism, pantheism, panentheism, and New Age, varies in the countries around the world. According to reports from the Worldwide Independent Network/Gallup International Association's (WIN/GIA) four global polls: in 2005, 77% were a religious person and 4% were "convinced atheists"; in 2012, 23% were not a religious person and 13% were "convinced atheists";[2] in 2015, 22% were not a religious person and 11% were "convinced atheists";[3] and in 2017, 25% were not a religious person and 9% were "convinced atheists".[4] According to the Pew Research Centre in 2012, 16% of the world is "religiously unaffiliated", which "include atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion in surveys"; of that overall category, many may still hold some religious beliefs and some engage in religious practices as well.[5]

According to sociologist Phil Zuckerman, broad estimates of those who have an absence of belief in a god range from 500 to 750 million people worldwide.[6] According to sociologists Ariela Keysar and Juhem Navarro-Rivera's review of numerous global studies on atheism, there are 450 to 500 million positive atheists and agnostics worldwide (7% of the world's population) with China alone accounting for 200 million of that demographic.[7] Relative to its own populations, Zuckerman ranks the top 5 countries with the highest possible ranges of agnostics and atheists: Sweden (46–85%), Vietnam (81%), Denmark (43–80%), Norway (31–72%), and Japan (64–65%).[8][9] A 2023 Gallup International survey found that Sweden was the country with the highest percentage of citizens that stated they do not believe in a god.[10]

## Differences in questions asked in polls

[edit]

Each poll uses different questions and methods:-

* The Worldwide Independent Network/Gallup International Association (WIN/GIA) poll asked "Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say that you are a religious person, not a religious person or a convinced atheist?"
* Dentsu Communication Institute provides data for respondents who stated that they have "no religion".
* Phil Zuckerman uses only the number of people who describe themselves as atheists and agnostics.

The numbers come from different years, and might not be accurate for countries with governments that require or urge religion or secularism.

## Countries and regions

[edit]

The Pew Research Centre data in the table below reflects "religiously unaffiliated" which "include atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion in surveys".

The WIN-Gallup International Association (WIN/GIA) poll results below are the totals for "not a religious person" (regardless of whether they had some religious affiliation) and "a convinced atheist" combined. Keysar, et al., have advised caution with WIN/Gallup International figures since more extensive surveys have consistently reached lower figures than the numbers in the table below. For example, the WIN/GIA numbers from China were overestimated which in turn inflated global totals.[7]

The Zuckerman data on the table below only reflect the number of people who have an absence of belief in a deity only (atheists, agnostics). These do not include the broader number of people who do not identify with a religion, such as deists, pantheists, and spiritual-but-not-religious people.

| Pew | WIN/GIA | Dentsu | Zuckerman | Last census or estimation data

|
|
|
|
|

Country or region | (2012)[11] | (2017)[12] | (2015)[3] | (2012)[13][14] | (2006)[15] | (2004)[6] |
Afghanistan (details) | < 0.1%  |  | 9%  | 15% |  |  |
Albania (details) | 1.4%  | 39%  |  |  |  | 8% |
Argentina | 12.2%  | 34%  | 20%  | 26% | 13% | 4-8% |
Armenia | 1.3%  | 6%  | 5%  | 5% |  | 34% |
Australia (details) | 24.2%  | 63%  | 58%  | 58% |  | 24-25% | 9,887,000
Austria | 13.5%  | 53%  | 54%  | 53% | 12% | 18-26% |
Azerbaijan (details) | < 0.1%  | 64%  | 54%  | 51% |  |  |
Bangladesh (details) | < 0.1%  | 19%  | 5%  |  |  |  |
Belarus | 28.6%  |  |  |  | 48% | 17% |
Belgium (details) | 29%  | 64%  | 48%  | 34% | 35% | 42-43% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2.5%  | 22%  | 32%  | 29% |  |  |
Brazil (details) | 7.9%  | 17%  | 18%  | 14% |  |  | 15,535,510
Bulgaria (details) | 4.2%  | 39%  | 39%  | 30% | 30% | 34-40% |
Cameroon | 5.3%  |  |  | 17% |  |  |
Canada (details) | 23.7%  | 57%  | 53%  | 49% | 26% | 19-30% | 12,577,495
Chile | 8.6%  |  |  |  | 34% |  |
China (details) | 52.2%  | 90%  | 90%  | 77% | 93% | 8-14% |
Colombia | 6.6%  | 14%  | 17%  | 15% |  |  |
DR Congo | 1.8%  | 17%  |  |  |  |  |
Croatia (details) | 5.1%  |  |  |  | 13% | 7% |
Cuba | 23%  |  |  |  |  | 7% |
Czech Republic (details) | 76.4%  | 72%  | 75%  | 78% | 64% | 54-61% | 5,027,094
Denmark (details) | 11.8%  | 61%  | 52%  |  | 10% | 43-80% |
Dominican Republic | 10.9%  |  |  |  |  | 7% |
Ecuador | 5.5%  | 18%  | 28%  | 29% |  |  |
Estonia (details) | 59.6%  | 60%  |  |  | 76% | 49% |
Fiji | 0.8%  | 8%  | 7%  | 6%  |  |  |
Finland (details) | 17.6%  | 55%  | 42%  | 44% | 12% | 28-60% |
France (details) | 28%  | 50%  | 53%  | 63% | 43% | 43-54% |
Georgia (details) | 0.7%  |  | 7%  | 13% |  |  |
Germany (details) | 24.7%  | 60%  | 59%  | 48% | 25% | 41-49% |
Ghana (details) | 4.2%  | 1%  |  | 2% |  |  | 328,721
Greece | 6.1%  | 22%  | 21%  |  | 4% | 16% |
Hungary (details) | 18.6%  |  |  |  | 43% | 32-46% |
Iceland (details) | 3.5%  | 49%  | 44%  | 41% | 4% | 16-23% |
India (details) | < 0.1%  | 5%  | 23%  | 16% | 7% | 9.11%  | 2,867,303
Indonesia (details) | < 0.1%  | 30%  | 15%  |  |  |  | 132,881
Iran (details) | 0.1%  | 20%  |  |  | 1% |  |
Iraq (details) | 0.1%  | 34%  |  | 9% |  |  |
Ireland (details) | 6.2%  | 56%  | 51%  | 54% | 7% |  | 758,734
Israel (details) | 3.1%  | 58%  | 65%  |  |  | 15-37% |
Italy (details) | 12.4%  | 26%  | 24%  | 23% | 18% | 6-15% |
Japan (details) | 57%  | 60%  | 62%  | 62% | 52% | 64-65% |
Kazakhstan (details) | 4.2%  |  |  |  |  | 11-12% |
Kenya (details) | 2.5%  |  | 9%  | 11% |  |  |
Kosovo | 1.6%  | 3%  | 8%  |  |  |  |
Kyrgyzstan | 0.4%  |  |  |  |  | 7% |
Latvia | 43.8%  | 52%  | 50%  |  | 41% | 20-29% |
Lebanon (details) | 0.3%  | 28%  | 18%  | 35% |  |  |
Lithuania | 10%  | 40%  |  | 23% | 19% | 13% |
Luxembourg | 26.8%  |  |  |  | 30% |  |
Malaysia | 0.7%  |  | 23%  | 13% |  |  | 608,720
Malta | 2.5%  |  |  |  | 1% |  |
Mexico (details) | 4.7%  | 36%  | 28%  |  |  |  |
Moldova | 1.4%  |  |  | 10% |  |  |
Mongolia | 35.9%  | 29%  |  |  |  | 9% |
Morocco (details) | < 0.1%  |  | 5%  |  |  |  |
Netherlands (details) | 42.1%  |  | 66%  | 56% | 55% | 39-44% |
New Zealand (details) | 36.6%  |  |  |  |  | 20-22% | 2,264,601
Nigeria (details) | 0.4%  | 2%  | 16%  | 5% | 1% |  |
North Korea | 71.3%  |  |  |  |  | 15% |
North Macedonia |  | 11%  | 10%  | 9% |  |  |
Norway (details) | 10.1%  | 62%  |  |  |  | 31-72% |
Pakistan (details) | < 0.1%  | 6%  | 11%  | 10% |  |  | 36,881
Palestinian territories | < 0.1%  | 35%  | 19%  | 33% |  |  |
Panama | 4.8%  | 13%  |  |  |  |  |
Papua New Guinea | < 0.1%  | 5%  | 4%  |  |  |  |
Peru (details) | 3%  | 23%  | 13%  | 11% | 5% |  |
Philippines (details) | 0.1%  | 9%  | 22%  |  | 11% |  | 43,931
Poland (details) | 5.6%  | 10%  | 12%  | 14% | 5% |  | 2,661,506
Portugal | 4.4%  | 38%  | 37%  |  | 11% | 4-9% |
Puerto Rico | 1.9%  |  |  |  | 11% |  |
Romania (details) | 0.1%  | 9%  | 17%  | 7% | 2% |  |
Russia (details) | 16.2%  | 30%  | 23%  | 32% | 48% | 24-48% |
Saudi Arabia (details) | 0.7%  |  |  | 24% |  |  |
Serbia | 3.3%  | 21%  | 21%  | 19% |  |  |
Singapore (details) | 16.4%  |  |  |  |  | 13% | 1,140,000
Slovakia | 14.3%  |  |  |  | 23% | 10-28% |
Slovenia | 18%  | 53%  |  |  | 30% | 35-38% |
South Africa (details) | 14.9%  |  |  | 32% | 11% |  | 6,574,692
South Korea (details) | 46.4%  | 60%  | 55%  | 46% | 37% | 30-52% |
South Sudan | 1%  |  |  | 16%  |  |  |
Spain (details) | 19%  | 57%  | 55%  | 47% | 16% | 15-24% |
Sweden (details) | 27%  | 73%  | 76%  | 58% | 25% | 46-85% |
Switzerland (details) | 11.9%  |  | 58%  | 47% |  | 17-27% |
Taiwan | 12.7%  |  |  |  |  | 24% |
Tanzania | 1.4%  |  |  |  | 2% |  |
Thailand | 0.3%  | 2%  | 2%  |  |  |  | 2,082
Tunisia | 0.2%  |  |  | 33% |  |  |
Turkey (details) | 1.2%  | 12%  | 15%  | 75% | 3% |  |
Uganda (details) | 0.5%  |  |  |  | 1% |  |
Ukraine | 14.7%  | 42%  | 24%  | 23% | 42% | 20% |
United Kingdom (details) | 21.3%  | 69%  | 66%  |  |  | 31-44% | 25,273,495
United States (details) | 16.4%  | 39%  | 39%  | 35% | 20% | 3-9% |
Uruguay (details) | 40.7%  |  |  |  |  | 12% |
Uzbekistan | 0.8%  |  |  | 18% |  |  |
Venezuela | 10%  |  | 2%  |  | 27% |  |
Vietnam | 29.6%  | 63%  | 54%  | 65% | 46% | 81% |

## By population

[edit]

The Pew Research Centre in the table below reflects "religiously unaffiliated" which "include atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion in surveys".

The Zuckerman data on the table below only reflect the number of people who have an absence of belief in a deity only (atheists, agnostics). Does not include the broader number of people who do not identify with a religion such as deists, spiritual but not religious, pantheists, New Age spiritualism, etc.

Country  | Pew (2012)[16] | Zuckerman (2004)[17][18]

|
|

China | 700,680,000  | 103,907,840 – 181,838,720
India |  | 102,870,000
Japan | 72,120,000  | 81,493,120 – 82,766,450
Vietnam | 26,040,000  | 66,978,900
Russia | 23,180,000  | 34,507,680 – 69,015,360
Germany | 20,350,000  | 33,794,250 – 40,388,250
France | 17,580,000  | 25,982,320 – 32,628,960
United Kingdom |  | 18,684,010 – 26,519,240
South Korea | 22,350,000  | 14,579,400 – 25,270,960
Ukraine |  | 9,546,400
United States | 50,980,000  | 8,790,840 – 26,822,520
Netherlands |  | 6,364,020 – 7,179,920
Canada |  | 6,176,520 – 9,752,400
Spain |  | 6,042,150 – 9,667,440
Taiwan |  | 5,460,000
Hong Kong |  | 5,240,000
Czech Republic |  | 5,328,940 – 6,250,121
Australia |  | 4,779,120 – 4,978,250
Belgium |  | 4,346,160 – 4,449,640
Sweden |  | 4,133,560 – 7,638,100
Italy |  | 3,483,420 – 8,708,550
North Korea | 17,350,000  | 3,404,700
Hungary |  | 3,210,240 – 4,614,720
Bulgaria |  | 2,556,120 – 3,007,200
Denmark |  | 2,327,590 – 4,330,400
Turkey |  | 1,956,990 - 6,320,550
Belarus |  | 1,752,870
Greece |  | 1,703,680
Kazakhstan |  | 1,665,840 – 1,817,280
Argentina |  | 1,565,800 – 3,131,600
Austria |  | 1,471,500 – 2,125,500
Finland |  | 1,460,200 – 3,129,000
Norway |  | 1,418,250 – 3,294,000
Switzerland |  | 1,266,670 – 2,011,770
Israel |  | 929,850 – 2,293,630
New Zealand |  | 798,800 – 878,680
Cuba |  | 791,630
Slovenia |  | 703,850 – 764,180
Estonia |  | 657,580
Dominican Republic |  | 618,380
Singapore |  | 566,020
Slovakia |  | 542,400 – 1,518,720
Lithuania |  | 469,040
Latvia |  | 461,200 – 668,740
Portugal |  | 420,960 – 947,160
Armenia |  | 118,740
Uruguay |  | 407,880
Kyrgyzstan |  | 355,670
Croatia |  | 314,790
Albania |  | 283,600
Mongolia |  | 247,590
Iceland |  | 47,040 – 67,620
Brazil | 15,410,000  |

## See also

[edit]

* Importance of religion by country
* List of religious populations

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
2. ^ "Global Index of Religion and Atheism" (PDF). WIN/Gallup International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
3. ^ a b "Losing our Religion? Two-Thirds of People Still Claim to be Religious" (PDF). WIN/Gallup International. 13 April 2015.
4. ^ "Religion prevails in the world" (PDF). Gallup International. 14 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
5. ^ "Religiously Unaffiliated". The Global Religious Landscape. Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. 18 December 2012. "The religiously unaffiliated include atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion in surveys. However, many of the religiously unaffiliated have some religious beliefs...Some of the unaffiliated also engage in certain kinds of religious practices."
6. ^ a b Zuckerman, Phil (2006). "Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns". In Martin, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 47–66. ISBN 9780521842709.
7. ^ a b Keysar, Ariela; Navarro-Rivera, Juhem (2017). "36. A World of Atheism: Global Demographics". In Bullivant, Stephen; Ruse, Michael (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199644650.
8. ^ "The Cambridge Companion to Atheism - PDF Drive".
9. ^ "81-F77-Aeb-A404-447-C-8-B95-Dd57-Adc11-E98".
10. ^ Whether or not you belong to a religion, do you believe or not believe in the following? - God (Image).
11. ^ "Global Religious Landscape" (PDF). Pew Research Center. 18 December 2012. pp. 45–50.
12. ^ "Religion prevails in the world" (PDF). Gallup International. 14 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
13. ^ "WIN-Gallup International 'Religiosity and Atheism Index' reveals atheists are a small minority in the early years of 21st century". WIN-Gallup International. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
14. ^ "GLOBAL INDEX OF RELIGIOSITY AND ATHEISM – 2012" (PDF). WIN-Gallup International. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
15. ^ Dentsu Communication Institute 電通総研・日本リサーチセンター編「世界60カ国価値観データブック (in Japanese)
16. ^ "Religiously Unaffiliated". 18 December 2012.
17. ^ "The Cambridge Companion to Atheism - PDF Drive".
18. ^ "81-F77-Aeb-A404-447-C-8-B95-Dd57-Adc11-E98".

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Irreligion by country at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Lists of countries by religious rankings

* Buddhism
* Christianity
* Catholicism
* Eastern Orthodoxy
* Oriental Orthodoxy
* Protestantism
* Latter-day Saints
* Hinduism
* Importance of religion
* Irreligion
* Islam
* Ahmadiyya
* Judaism
* Judaism type
* Sikhism
* Zoroastrianism

* List of international rankings
* Lists by country

* v
* t
* e

Irreligion

Irreligion|

* Antireligion
* Anti-clericalism
* Criticism of religion
* Freethought
* Organized secularism
* Parody religion
* Secular humanism
* Secular liberalism
* Secular state
* Secularism
* Secularity
* Secularization
* Separation of church and state

Atheism|

* Demographics
* Religion
* History
* State
* New
* Criticism
* Discrimination/Persecution
* Implicit and explicit
* Negative and positive
* Existence of God
* Antitheism

Agnosticism|

* Strong
* Weak
* Agnostic atheism
* Apatheism

People|

* Atheists
* Agnostics
* Humanists

Books|

* The Age of Reason
* Breaking the Spell
* The Demon-Haunted World
* The End of Faith
* The God Delusion
* God Is Not Great
* Letter to a Christian Nation
* The System of Nature
* Why I Am Not a Christian
* Why I Am Not a Muslim
* Why I Am an Atheist

Organizations|

* American Atheists
* American Humanist Association
* Atheist Alliance International
* Center for Inquiry
* Freedom From Religion Foundation
* Humanists International
* Humanists UK
* Rational Response Squad
* Recovering from Religion
* Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics

Related topics|

* Countries by irreligion
* Disestablishmentarianism
* Secular ethics

Portal:

* Religion

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template