Islam to rule the world by 2060, Muslim population to increase by…, Hindus will be…

Muslim Population: Islam is currently fastest growing religion in the world and the global Muslim population is increasing at a rapid pace due to various factors. As per a new study by the Pew Research Center, Muslim population worldwide will surge by a whopping 70 percent in the next 35 years, breaching the 3 billion mark by the year 2060, and Islam will replace Christianity as the world’s largest largest religion.

According to the Pew Research study on world’s fastest growing religions, Christianity is currently the most followed religion on earth,  accounting for 31 percent of the world’s 7.3 billion population, followed by Islam at second place, and Hinduism in the third spot. However, the study predicts that this dynamic will drastically change over the next three-and-a-half decades as Muslim population is expected to witness a significant rise by the year 2060.

Islam to replace Christianity as world’s largest religion

The study predicts that Islam, the world’s fastest growing religion, will continue to grow at a steady pace, and Muslims are likely to become the world’s largest religious group by the year 2060. As per the study, there are three major reasons for the surge in Muslim population– young population, high fertility rate, and the practice of religious conversion.

According to the study, the global population is expected to increase by around 32 percent by 2060, while the Muslim population is expected to surge by up to 70 percent, more than double the global average.

The Pew Research study had made this estimate for the 45-year period between 2015 to 2060, noting that in 2015, the Muslim population was 1.8 billion globally, which is expected to cross the three billion mark by the year 2060.

Key reasons for rapid increase in Muslim population

As per the study, there are various factors responsible for the rapid increase in Muslim population, including having a young population and a high fertility rate, which is the highest among religious groups. The report revealed that Muslim women have fertility rate of 3.1, followed by Christian women at 2.7.

In developing countries, the fertility rate of Muslims and Christians is very high, while the mortality rate is low, due to which their population is rapidly increasing, and expected to rise by 12 percent by 2050 in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, the report noted.

In its 2010 report, the Pew Research Center had revealed that 34 percent of the world’s Muslim population was under 15 years of age, 60 percent were between 15 and 59 years, and only 7 percent were 60 or older. Most Muslims live in Africa and the Middle East, where global population growth rates are projected to be the highest.

India’s Muslim population

As per the the Pew Research Center report, India will witness a mild increase in its Muslim population, and around 19.4 percent of the country population will be Muslims by 2060, against 14.9 percent it had in 2015. The report estimates that India’s Muslim population will reach 33 crore in the next 36 years.

It further estimates that the population of Christians will increase by 34 percent, while the Hindu population is expected to grow by just 27, below the global population growth average, by 2060. At present, Christians and Hindus constitute 34 and 15 percent of the global population, respectively.

News