The Number of Muslims is Predicted to Approach That of Christians Worldwide by 2050

Based on data from *Global Religious Futures*, the number of Christians worldwide was 2.17 billion, or 31.44% of the global population of 6.9 billion in 2010. Christians constituted the largest religious group.

Meanwhile, the number of Muslims was estimated at 1.6 billion, or 23.2% of the global population in 2010. This means the number of Muslims was smaller than the number of Christians.

The number of Christians is projected to grow by 9.89% in 10 years, reaching 2.38 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, the Muslim population is projected to increase by 19.22% to 1.91 billion in 2020. Furthermore, by 2030, Christians are projected to increase by 8.23% to 2.58 billion, while the Muslim population is projected to increase by 15.84% to 2.21 billion.

The number of Christians is projected to further increase to 2.76 billion in 2040, a growth of 6.89% in 10 years. Similarly, the Muslim population is also predicted to continue growing, reaching 2.5 billion in 2040, an increase of 13.06% in a decade.

According to Global Religious Futures, the Christian population is projected to reach 2.92 billion in 2050, a growth of 5.87% in 10 years. Meanwhile, the Muslim population is expected to reach 2.76 billion in 2050, an increase of 10.56% in a decade.

The higher population growth in Muslim-majority countries compared to Christian-majority countries is causing the gap between the number of Christians and Muslims to narrow. In addition, religious conversion also influences the number of Muslims and Christians worldwide.

In 2010, the difference between the number of Christians and Muslims was 568.63 million. However, this difference will narrow to 156.59 million by 2050. Christians will constitute 31.35% of the global population, while Muslims will constitute 29.68% of the total global population of 9.31 billion in 2050.