Protestantism by country
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Multiple image". Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists There are approximately 833,457,000 Protestants worldwide,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]Template:Efn among approximately 2.5 billion Christians.[9][1][10][11]Template:Efn In 2010, a total of more than 800 million included 300 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million in the Americas, 140 million in Asia-Pacific region, 100 million in Europe and 2 million in Middle East-North Africa.[2] Protestants account for nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide and more than one tenth of the total human population.[2] Various estimates put the percentage of Protestants in relation to the total number of the world's Christians at 33%,[5] 36%,[12] 36.7%,[2] and 40%,[3] while in relation to the world's population at 11.6%[2] and 13%.[8]
In European countries which were most profoundly influenced by the Reformation, Protestantism still remains the most practiced religion.[5] These include the Nordic countries and United Kingdom.[5][13] In other historical Protestant strongholds such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia and Hungary, it remains one of the most popular religions.[14] Although Czech Republic was the site of one of the most significant pre-reformation movements,[15] there are only few Protestant adherents[16][17]—mainly due to historical reasons like persecution of Protestants by the Catholic Habsburgs,[18] restrictions during the Communist rule and also the ongoing secularization.[15] Over the last several decades, religious practice has been declining as secularization has increased.[5][19] According to a 2019 study about religiosity in the European Union (EU) by Eurobarometer, Protestants made up 9% of the EU population.[20] According to Pew Research Center, Protestants constituted nearly one fifth (or 17.8%) of the continent's Christian population in 2010.[2] Clarke and Beyer estimate that Protestants constituted 15% of all Europeans in 2009, while Noll claims that less than 12% of them lived in Europe in 2010.[5][7]
Changes in worldwide Protestantism over the last century have been significant.[3][7][21] Since 1900, Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America.[22][8][21] That caused Protestantism to be called a primarily non-Western religion.[7][21] Much of the growth has occurred after World War II, when decolonization of Africa and abolition of various restrictions against Protestants in Latin American countries occurred.[8] According to one source, Protestants constituted respectively 2.5% of South Americans, 2% of Africans and 0.5% of Asians in 1900.[8] In 2000, these percentages had increased to 17%, more than 27% and 5.5%, respectively.[8] According to Mark A. Noll, 79% of Anglicans lived in the United Kingdom in 1910, while most of the remainder were found in the United States and across the British Commonwealth.[7] By 2010, 59% of Anglicans were found in Africa.[7] China is home to the world's largest Protestant minority.[2]Template:Efn
Protestantism is growing in Africa,[22][23][24] Asia,[22][24][25] Latin America,[24][26] and Oceania,[22][21] while remaining stable or declining in Anglo America[21] and Europe,[5][27] with some exceptions such as France,[28] where it was legally eradicated after the abolition of the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau and the following persecution of Huguenots, but now is claimed to be stable in number or even growing slightly.[28] According to some, Russia is another country to see Protestant growth.[29][30][31] However, "by 2050 it is expected that less than 9% of Protestants will be European" and "sometime around 2040 half of all Protestants will likely live in Africa."[32]
In 2010, the largest Protestant denominational families were historically Pentecostal denominations (10.8%), Anglican (10.6%), Lutheran (9.7%), Baptist (9%), United and uniting churches (unions of different denominations) (7.2%), Presbyterian or Reformed (7%), Methodist (3.4%), Adventist (2.7%), Congregationalist (0.5%), Brethren (0.5%), The Salvation Army (0.3%) and Moravian (0.1%). Other denominations accounted for 38.2% of Protestants.[2]
The United States is home to approximately 20% of Protestants.[2] According to a 2019 study, Protestant share of U.S. population dropped to 43%, further ending its status as religion of the majority.[33][34][35] The decline is attributed mainly to the dropping membership of the Mainline Protestant churches [34][36] and even among Evangelical Protestant churches[37][38] while Black churches are relatively stable or continue to grow.[34]
According to Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States, a review of American Nobel prizes winners awarded between 1901 and 1972 by Harriet Zuckerman, 72% of American Nobel Prize laureates came from Protestant backgrounds.[39] Overall, Protestants have won a total of 84.2% of all the American Nobel Prizes in Chemistry,[39] 60% in Medicine,[39] 58.6% in Physics,[39] between 1901 and 1972.
By 2050, some project Protestantism to rise to slightly more than half of the world's total Christian population.[40]Template:Efn According to Hans J. Hillerbrand, Protestant and Catholic share of the global Christian population will almost be the same by 2050, with Protestants exhibiting a significantly higher growth rate.[41]
According to Mark Juergensmeyer of the University of California, popular ProtestantismTemplate:Efn is the most dynamic religious movement in the contemporary world, alongside resurgent Islam.[42]
Methodology
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". For the purposes of this list, the following Christian branches are considered Protestant:
- Seventh-day Adventists
- Anabaptists (including Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites)
- Anglicans (including Episcopalians)
- Baptists
- Calvinists (or the Reformed tradition) (including Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Continental Reformed, Waldensians)
- Lutherans
- Methodists
- Pentecostals
- Other Protestants (including Hussites, Brethren, Free Evangelicals, Quakers, United, Holiness and others)
Evangelicals, Charismatics, Neo-charismatics and other revivalists are found virtually across every Protestant branch. Nondenominationals, various independents and Protestants from other denominations, not easily fitting in the traditional classification, are also taken into account.
Estimates of total Protestant population vary considerably. Most reliable sources claim a range of 800 million to more than 1 billion. Difficulties occur as there is no consensus among scholars which denominations should be considered Protestant.
Countries
Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The seven regions considered in the following table are the six traditional ones (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania), plus Middle East (i.e., countries with Islamic majority from the Mediterranean to Iran).
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By region
Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The following are summary tables of the numbers and percentages of Protestants in each region. Also included are the percentages of Protestants in the world that reside in that region ("% of Protestant total").
| Region | Total Population | Protestants | % Protestant | % of Protestant total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Africa | 91,561,875 | 18,322,151 | 20.01% | 3.09% |
| East Africa | 225,488,566 | 36,965,728 | 16.39% | 6.23% |
| North Africa | 161,963,837 | 100,300 | 0.06% | 0.01% |
| Southern Africa | 137,092,019 | 55,432,677 | 40.44% | 9.35% |
| West Africa | 269,935,590 | 49,230,627 | 18.24% | 8.30% |
| Total | 886,041,887 | 160,051,482 | 18.06% | 26.99% |
| Region | Total Population | Protestants | % Protestant | % of Protestant total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Asia | 92,019,166 | 308,736 | 0.34% | 0.05% |
| East Asia | 1,527,960,261 | 25,550,708 | 1.67% | 4.31% |
| Middle East | 271,013,623 | 680,757 | 0.25% | 0.11% |
| South Asia | 1,437,326,682 | 9,458,283 | 0.66% | 1.59% |
| Southeast Asia | 571,337,070 | 26,387,155 | 4.62% | 4.45% |
| Total | 3,899,656,802 | 62,385,639 | 1.6% | 10.52% |
| Region | Total Population | Protestants | % Protestant | % of Protestant total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Europe | 82,033,047 | 7,803,177 | 9.51% | 1.32% |
| Eastern Europe | 209,198,166 | 1,389,452 | 0.66% | 0.23% |
| Northern Europe | 191,466,473 | 104,997,796 | 54.8% | 17.71% |
| Balkans | 65,407,609 | 1,713,080 | 2.62% | 0.31% |
| Southern Europe | 180,498,923 | 1,964,538 | 1.09% | 0.33% |
| Total | 728,604,218 | 117,868,043 | 16.2% | 19.90% |
| Region | Total Population | Protestants | % Protestant | % of Protestant total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caribbean | 37,285,819 | 5,912,490 | 15.86% | 0.99% |
| Central America | 147,338,108 | 16,376,631 | 11.12% | 2.76% |
| North America | 328,539,175 | 172,167,236 | 52.4% | 29.03% |
| South America | 371,075,531 | 44,682,767 | 12.04% | 7.53% |
| Total | 884,238,633 | 239,139,124 | 27.05% | 40.32% |
| Region | Total Population | Protestants | % Protestant | % of Protestant total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceania | 30,809,781 | 13,474,012 | 43.73% | 2.27% |
Maps
Europe
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Approximate spread of Protestantism after the Reformation and following the Counter-Reformation. Crypto-Protestants are not shown.
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Approximate spread of Protestantism at the Reformation's peak. Crypto-Protestants, Crypto-papists and Crypto-Muslims are not shown.
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The Protestant Reformation at its peak
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After the Counter-Reformation. Crypto-Protestants are not shown.
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After the Edict of Fontainebleau. Crypto-Protestants are not shown.
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Modern spread after the Irish independence, Expulsion of Finns from Karelia and the Expulsions of Germans
World
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Countries by percentage of Protestants in 1545
-
Countries by percentage of Protestants in 1710
-
Countries by percentage of Protestants in 1938
-
Countries by percentage of Protestants in 2010
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Protestant majority countries in 1938
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Protestant majority countries in 2010
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See also
- Christianity by country
- Catholic Church by country
- Eastern Orthodoxy by country
- List of Christian denominations by number of members
- List of the largest Protestant denominations
- Oriental Orthodoxy by country
Other religions
- List of religious populations
- Buddhism by country
- Hinduism by country
- Islam by country
- Irreligion § Demographics
- Jewish population by country
- Bahá'í statistics
Notes
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References
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- ↑ a b c d e f Jay Diamond, Larry. Plattner, Marc F. and Costopoulos, Philip J. World Religions and Democracy. 2005, page 119. link (saying "Not only do Protestants presently constitute 13 percent of the world's population—about 800 million people—but since 1900 Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.")
- ↑ 33.39% of 7.174 billion world population (as of 2014; under the section "People and Society") Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Dr.Todd M.Johnson, "Protestans Around the World," World Christian Encyclopedia Edinburgh University Press, 3rd edition, 2019.
- ↑ "In US, Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace," Pew Research Center, 17 October 2019
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Gregory A. Smith, "About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated," Pew Research Center, 2021/12/14.
- ↑ David Brooks, "The Dissenters Trying to Save Evangelicalism," The New York Times, 6 February 2022, 4-5. Brooks notes the following: "In 2005, 23% of Americans were white evangelical Protestants, according to the Public Religion Research Institute. By 2020, that share was down to 14.5%. By 2020, 22% of Americans 65 and older were white evangelical Protestants. Among adults 18-29, only 7% were."
- ↑ a b c d Harriet Zuckerman, Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States New York, The Free Press, 1977, p.68: Protestants turn up among the American-reared laureates in slightly greater proportion to their numbers in the general population. Thus 72 percent of the seventy-one laureates but about two thirds of the American population were reared in one or another Protestant denomination-)
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Creencias, valores y actitudes en la sociedad Argentina, conicet.gov.ar, 29 January 2020 (Spanish)
- ↑ 2016 Census of Population and General Community (Sheet G14) Australian Bureau of Statistics
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- ↑ Bahamas Census 2010
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Religion affiliation in Bolivia as of 2018. Based on Latinobarómetro. Survey period: 15 June to 2 August 2018, 1,200 respondents.
- ↑ "El Papa Francisco y la Religión en Chile y América Latina" Latinobarómetro 1995-2017, Enero 2018
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- ↑ CIA Factbook, 2015
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- ↑ Latinobarometro Retrieved 8 February 2018
- ↑ Belonging to a religious community by age and sex, 2000-2022 Statistics Finland
- ↑ CIA World Factbook
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- ↑ Census 2016 Summary Results April 2017, Central Statistics Office, Ireland
- ↑ [1] retrieved 10 December 2022
- ↑ Latinobarometro retrieved 8 February 2018
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- ↑ Church of Norway Statistics Norway
- ↑ Members of Christian communities outside the Church of Norway Statistics Norway
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- ↑ Gavin Drake, "Survey reveals falling numbers," http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles2014/20-june/news/uk/survey-reveals-falling-numb...6/25/2014
- ↑ US Census Bureau, Dec. 31, 2024, pio@census.gov.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ "In US, Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace, Pew Research Center, 17 October 2019.
- ↑ Jeff Diamant, "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 119th Congress," Pew Research Center, Jan. 2, 2025.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Religion in Venezuela (see pag 41-42)
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