Islam

Islam Becomes Fastest-Growing Religion Globally, Study Shows

Published JUN 11 2025

Story

Above: Pilgrims traditionally visit Prophet Muhammad's Mosque (Masjid an-Nabawi) in Medina on June 11, 2025. Image credit: Esra Hacioglu/Contributor/Anadolu via Getty Images

The Facts

The global Muslim population increased by 347 million people between 2010 and 2020, reaching 2 billion and representing 25.6% of the world's population, according to a comprehensive Pew Research Center study released Monday that analyzed over 2,700 data sources across 201 countries and territories.
Pew Research Center
Islam grew by more during the decade (347 million) than all non-Muslim religions combined (248 million). Christianity remains the world's largest religion with 2.3 billion adherents (28.8%), but its share fell by 1.8 percentage points due to aging populations, lower fertility rates, and widespread disaffiliation.
Pew Research Center
The rapid growth of Islam reportedly stems primarily from demographic factors rather than conversions, with Muslim women averaging 2.9 children compared to 2.2 for non-Muslim women, and Muslims having a median age of 24 versus 33 for non-Muslims globally during the study period.
Middle East Eye
Washingtontimes
Religiously unaffiliated individuals, including atheists and agnostics, now constitute the third-largest group at 24.2% of the global population, increasing from 16% in 2010, with particularly steep growth in North America where they reached 30.2% of the population.
NPR Online News
Premierchristian
Buddhism was the only major religion to decline in absolute numbers, losing 19 million adherents and falling to 324 million people or 4.1% of the global population, primarily due to low birth rates and rising disaffiliation in East Asia.
NPR Online News
Middle East Eye
Sub-Saharan Africa now hosts the largest share of Christians globally at 31%, surpassing Europe for the first time, while the Asia-Pacific region contains the world's largest Muslim population with 1.2 billion adherents, followed by the Middle East-North Africa region with 414 million.
RNS
Daily Mail

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

Islam’s unmatched clarity in monotheism, its unaltered revelation, the prophetic character of its founder Muhammad, and its harmony of faith with reason all point to one truth: it is divine. In a world riddled with spiritual confusion, Islam offers certainty, rooted not in emotion but in timeless, rational, and god-ordained guidance.

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Narrative B

Islam’s staggering growth isn’t driven by mass conversions or theological superiority — it’s just demographic mathematics. Muslim families have more children, their populations are significantly younger, and they retain religious identity more so than others. Migration into the West also swells numbers. In essence, Islam is growing due to population momentum, fertility, and cultural cohesion.