---
title: "Islam Is The Fastest Growing Relgion, 2025 Pew Study Shows"
url: "https:\/\/theislamicinformation.com\/news\/islam-is-the-fastest-growing-relgion-pew-study-2025\/"
type: "post"
updated: "2025-06-13"
description: "Between 2010 and 2020, Muslim populations rose by 347 million, outpacing all other faiths amid youthful demographics and higher birthrates."
taxonomies: ["News","Research"]
---

# Islam Is The Fastest Growing Relgion, 2025 Pew Study Shows

Source: https://theislamicinformation.com/news/islam-is-the-fastest-growing-relgion-pew-study-2025/
Updated: 2025-06-13

Between 2010 and 2020, the global number of Muslims climbed by approximately **347 million**, [reaching nearly **2 billion**](https://theislamicinformation.com/news/muslims-reach-2-billion/), according to a [Pew Research Center analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020/).

In that same period, Christians grew by **122 million**, but their share of the world's population slipped from 30.6 percent to 28.8 percent as overall growth outpaced their gains.

The next largest increase occurred among the **religiously unaffiliated**, whose ranks swelled by **300 million** to about **1.9 billion**, representing **24.2 percent** of humanity. Of all major faiths, only Buddhism saw a net decline—dropping **19 million** adherents to **324 million**.

![PR 2025.06.09 global religious change 0 02](https://theislamicinformation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PR_2025.06.09_global-religious-change_0-02.webp)

Pew attributes Islam's surge almost entirely to **natural demographic trends**. Muslim communities have a **younger median age**—just **24 years** in 2020, nine years below non‑Muslims—and **higher fertility rates**, with Muslim women averaging **2.9 children** each from 2015 to 2020 versus **2.2** for non‑Muslim women. Conversions had almost no net effect, as departures and entries balanced out.

Regionally, the **Asia‑Pacific** hosted the [largest Muslim population](https://theislamicinformation.com/blogs/countries-most-muslim-population-in-the-world/) at **1.2 billion**, followed by the **Middle East‑North Africa** with **414 million**, and **sub‑Saharan Africa** at **369 million**.

![PR 2025.06.09 global religious change 0 05](https://theislamicinformation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PR_2025.06.09_global-religious-change_0-05.webp)

Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh remained the countries with the greatest Muslim populations, and Islam was the majority faith in **53** countries or territories.

Professor Faisal Devji of the University of Oxford, speaking to Newsweek, noted that while Islam's rise reflects basic demographic patterns, the rapid expansion of the non‑religious in wealthier regions underscores a broader **decline in formal religious affiliation**.

![PR 2025.06.09 global religious change 0 012](https://theislamicinformation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PR_2025.06.09_global-religious-change_0-012.webp)

"The real story," he said, "is the resilience of Islam alongside the spectacular rise of the unaffiliated."

The Pew study drew on more than **2,700** data sources—censuses, surveys, and population registers—across **201** countries and territories, covering nearly the entire global population.

Given these underlying trends, [Islam's proportion of the world's faith community is projected to climb further](https://theislamicinformation.com/blogs/islam-largest-religion-in-the-world/) in the decades ahead.