Somalia is once again seen as the most religious country in the world, according to the survey by CEOWORLD magazine in partnership with the Global Business Policy Institute, a characterization of 148 countries based on a survey of more than 370,000 citizens of the world . Niger is the second most religious nation, according to the survey, with just 99.7% of residents saying they feel religious. In third place in the polls is Bangladesh, where only 99.5% of the population feels religious.
Meanwhile, India, the birthplace of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism, ranks 54th. The United States, with the freedom to practice its religion guaranteed by its Constitution, ranked 104th. Ireland and Israel rank at No. 110 and No. 11, respectively, in terms of perceived religiosity. The Basic Law in Israel describes the country as a Jewish state and “protects freedom of conscience, faith, religion and worship, regardless of an individual’s religious affiliation,” according to State Department report Report on International Religious Freedom for 2016.
Ethiopia, Yemen, Malawi, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mauritania and Djibouti round out the top 10 most religious countries based on this data. The term “religious”, an adjective which Merriam-Webster defines as “faithful devotion to a reality or to a recognized ultimate deity”; or “devoted to religious beliefs or practices”; or “scrupulously and conscientiously faithful”, but may have different meanings to different people. China is considered the least religious country. Less than 10% of residents said they feel religious in this nation. Estonia is the second least religious nation, with just 16% of residents saying they feel religious. In third place in the polls is Sweden, where only 17% of the population feels religious.
Most religious countries in the world based on religious beliefs, 2020
Rank | Country | Feel religious |
---|---|---|
1 | Somalia | 99.8 |
2 | Niger | 99.7 |
3 | Bangladesh | 99.5 |
4 | Ethiopia | 99.3 |
5 | Yemen | 99.1 |
6 | Malawi | 99 |
seven | Indonesia | 98.7 |
8 | Sri Lanka | 98.6 |
9 | Mauritania | 98.5 |
ten | Djibouti | 98.2 |
11 | Burundi | 98 |
12 | Egypt | 97 |
13 | Thailand | 97 |
14 | Morocco | 97 |
15 | Laos | 97 |
16 | Afghanistan | 97 |
17 | Guinea | 97 |
18 | Comoros | 97 |
19 | Burma | 97 |
20 | Senegal | 96 |
21 | Philippines | 96 |
22 | Nigeria | 96 |
23 | Malaysia | 96 |
24 | Jordan | 96 |
25 | Cameroon | 96 |
26 | Cambodia | 96 |
27 | Zambia | 95 |
28 | Rwanda | 95 |
29 | Qatar | 95 |
30 | Mali | 95 |
31 | Ghana | 95 |
32 | Republic of Congo | 95 |
33 | Chad | 95 |
34 | Algeria | 95 |
35 | Bahrain | 94 |
36 | Liberia | 94 |
37 | Kenya | 94 |
38 | DR Congo | 94 |
39 | Central African Republic | 94 |
40 | Uganda | 93 |
41 | Tunisia | 93 |
42 | Sudan | 93 |
43 | Saudi Arabia | 93 |
44 | Nepal | 93 |
45 | Madagascar | 93 |
46 | Palestine | 93 |
47 | Benign | 93 |
48 | Trinidad and Tobago | 92 |
49 | Paraguay | 92 |
50 | Pakistan | 92 |
51 | Namibia | 92 |
52 | United Arab Emirates | 91 |
53 | Kuwait | 91 |
54 | India | 90 |
55 | Tanzania | 89 |
56 | Syria | 89 |
57 | Bolivia | 89 |
58 | Burkina Faso | 88 |
59 | Zimbabwe | 88 |
60 | Panama | 88 |
61 | Ivory Coast | 88 |
62 | Guatemala | 88 |
63 | Angola | 88 |
64 | Brazil | 87 |
65 | Lebanon | 87 |
66 | Dominican Republic | 87 |
67 | Mozambique | 86 |
68 | Malta | 86 |
69 | Tajikistan | 85 |
70 | South Africa | 85 |
71 | Porto Rico | 85 |
72 | Romania | 84 |
73 | Peru | 84 |
74 | Nicaragua | 84 |
75 | Iraq | 84 |
76 | Honduras | 84 |
77 | El Salvador | 83 |
78 | Colombia | 83 |
79 | Turkey | 82 |
80 | Ecuador | 82 |
81 | Georgia | 81 |
82 | Turkmenistan | 80 |
83 | Go | 80 |
84 | Venezuela | 79 |
85 | Costa Rica | 79 |
86 | Botswana | 77 |
87 | Bosnia herzegovina | 77 |
88 | Poland | 75 |
89 | Haiti | 75 |
90 | Cyprus | 75 |
91 | Armenia | 73 |
92 | Mexico | 73 |
93 | Iran | 73 |
94 | Portugal | 72 |
95 | Moldova | 72 |
96 | Kyrgyzstan | 72 |
97 | Italy | 72 |
98 | Montenegro | 71 |
99 | Greece | 71 |
100 | Singapore | 70 |
101 | Jamaica | 70 |
102 | Croatia | 70 |
103 | Chile | 70 |
104 | United States | 69 |
105 | Argentina | 65 |
106 | Belize | 62 |
107 | Uzbekistan | 59 |
108 | Austria | 55 |
109 | Serbia | 54 |
110 | Ireland | 54 |
111 | Israel | 51 |
112 | Azerbaijan | 50 |
113 | Spain | 49 |
114 | Slovenia | 47 |
115 | Slovakia | 47 |
116 | Ukraine | 46 |
117 | Taiwan | 45 |
118 | South Korea | 43 |
119 | Kazakhstan | 43 |
120 | Lithuania | 42 |
121 | Canada | 42 |
122 | Uruguay | 41 |
123 | Switzerland | 41 |
124 | Germany | 40 |
125 | Albania | 39 |
126 | Luxembourg | 39 |
127 | Latvia | 39 |
128 | Hungary | 39 |
129 | Russia | 34 |
130 | Cuba | 34 |
131 | Belarus | 34 |
132 | Bulgaria | 34 |
133 | Belgium | 33 |
134 | New Zealand | 33 |
135 | Netherlands | 33 |
136 | Australia | 32 |
137 | Vietnam | 30 |
138 | France | 30 |
139 | Finland | 28 |
140 | UK | 27 |
141 | Japan | 24 |
142 | Hong Kong | 24 |
143 | Norway | 21 |
144 | Czech Republic | 21 |
145 | Denmark | 19 |
146 | Sweden | 17 |
147 | Estonia | 16 |
148 | China | seven |
Denmark, the Czech Republic, Norway, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and Finland round out the top 10 least religious countries based on this data. Overall, in the average of the countries surveyed, 74.44% of adults say that religion is very important in their life. However, levels of religious engagement (affiliation, importance of religion, worship participation, and frequency of prayer) vary widely across the world.
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