Two-thirds of the world considers itself religious

Two-thirds of the world’s population considers itself to be religious, according to a new poll from WIN/Gallup International.

The poll, which surveyed more than 60,000 people from 65 different countries, found that the world’s most religious people live in Africa and the Middle East, with eight out of every 10 people in those areas considering themselves religious. In America and Europe, about seven in 10 people say they are religious, with six out of 10 in Asia saying the same.

“Religion continues to dominate our everyday lives and we see that the total number of people who consider themselves to be religious is actually relatively high,” said Jean-Marc Leger, president of WIN/Gallup International. “Furthermore, with the trend of an increasingly religious youth globally, we can assume that the number of people who consider themselves religious will only continue to increase.”

Here’s a graph that show’s some of the most and least religious countries across the world, according to the poll.

But this information certainly isn’t set in stone, especially as we look to the future of religion across the world, which continues to change. For example, Mark Kellner of Deseret News National reported earlier in April that the amount of Islamic followers will near the amount of Christian believers across the world by 2050. Kellner also reported that religion will continue to grow, expand and change in demographics in the future.

Herb Scribner is a writer for Deseret News National. Send him an email at hscribner@deseretdigital.com or follow him on Twitter @herbscribner.