How Many Muslim and Where They are

Islam is a major world religion, with over 1 billion followers worldwide (1/5 of the world population). It is considered one of the Abrahamic, monotheistic faiths, along with Judaism and Christianity. Although usually associated with the Arabs of the Middle East, less than 10% of Muslims are in fact Arab. Muslims are found all over the world, of every nation, color and race.

Nearly one in five people in the world today claims the faith of Islam. A diverse community of believers spans the globe. Over fifty countries have Muslim-majority populations, while other groups of believers are clustered in minority communities on nearly every continent.

Although Islam is often associated with the Arab world and the Middle East, fewer than 15% of Muslims are Arab.

Distribution of Muslims

Africa	308,660,000	27.4%
Asia	778,362,000	69.1%
Europe	32,032,000	2.8%
Latin America	1,356,000	0.1%
North America	5,530,000	0.5%
Oceania	385,000	0.0%
World	1,126,325,000	100%

Source: Britannica Yearbook, 1997

Countries with Muslim Populations of 10% or more (1996)

Country	# in millions
Indonesia	182.2 m
Pakistan	136.9 m
Bangladesh	115.0 m
India	108.6 m
Iran	63.9 m
Turkey	61.0 m
Egypt	51.6 m
Nigeria	40.2 m
Algeria	29.1 m
China *	29.1 m
Morocco	29.1 m
Iraq	21.4 m
Sudan	20.4 m
Ethiopia	18.3 m
Afghanistan	18.0 m
Yemen	16.1 m
Saudi Arabia	16.0 m
Uzbekistan	15.9 m
Malaysia	10.5 m
Mali	9.4 m
Tunisia	9.0 m
Somalia	8.5 m
Senegal	7.7 m
Niger	7.5 m
Kazakhstan	6.9 m
Guinea	6.5 m
Azerbaijan	6.1 m
Cote d'Ivoire	5.9 m
Libya	5.2 m
Tajikstan	5.2 m
Burkina Faso	5.0 m
Jordan	3.6 m
Syria	3.5 m
Cameroon	3.1 m
Turkmenistan	3.1 m
Chad	2.9 m
Ghana	2.8 m
Kyrgyzstan	2.8 m
Israel (Palestine)	2.4 m
Mauritania	2.3 m
Mozambique	2.3 m
Sierra Leone	2.0 m
Bosnia	1.8 m
Serbia	1.8 m
United Arab Emirates	1.8 m
Lebanon	1.7 m
Oman	1.7 m
Malawi	1.5 m
Tanzania	1.5 m
Albania	1.4 m
Bulgaria	1.3 m
Brunei	1.2 m
Kuwait	1.2 m
Benin	0.95 m
Gambia	0.94 m
Togo	0.85 m
Macedonia	0.59 m
Bahrain	0.51 m
Comoros	0.51 m
Guinea Bissau	0.49 m
Qatar	0.47 m
Djibouti	0.45 m
Singapore	0.44 m
Liberia	0.40 m
Maldives	0.25 m
Mauritius	0.19 m
Sahara	0.13 m
Suriname	0.10 m
Cyprus	0.04 m
Gibraltar	0.003 m

* Muslims in China represent 2.4% of the population.