admin There are approximately 2.2 billion Christians in this world.
The number of Christians around the world has nearly quadrupled in the last 100 years, from about 600 million in 1910 to more than 2 billion in 2010. But the world’s overall population also has risen rapidly, from an estimated 1.8 billion in 1910 to 6.9 billion in 2010. As a result, Christians make up about the same portion of the world’s population today (32%) as they did a century ago (35%).
This apparent stability, however, masks a momentous shift. Although Europe and the Americas still are home to a majority of the world’s Christians (63%), that share is much lower than it was in 1910 (93%). And the proportion of Europeans and Americans who are Christian has dropped from 95% in 1910 to 76% in 2010 in Europe as a whole, and from 96% to 86% in the Americas as a whole.
Almost half (48%) of all Christians live in the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians. Three of the top 10 countries are in the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Mexico). Two are in Europe (Russia and Germany), two are in the Asia-Pacific region (the Philippines and China), and three are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia), reflecting Christianity’s global reach.
10 Countries with the Largest Number of Christians
| Countries | Estimated Christian Population (2010) |
|---|---|
| United States | 246,780,000 |
| Brazil | 175,770,000 |
| Mexico | 107,780,000 |
| Russia | 105,220,000 |
| Philippines | 86,790,000 |
| Nigeria | 80,510,000 |
| China | 67,070,000 |
| DR Congo | 63,150,000 |
| Germany | 58,240,000 |
| Ethiopia | 52,580,000 |
| Subtotal for the 10 Countries | 1,043,880,000 |
| Total for Rest of World | 1,140,180,000 |
| World Total | 2,184,060,000 |
Source: Global Christianity
