![\"Change](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Change-due-to-relgious-switching.png\")
<\/a>Change due to religious switching<\/p><\/div>\n
Religious growth<\/h3>\n
Notably, due largely to high fertility in the region, Pew projects that 40% of all Christians will be found in Sub-Saharan Africa, while the Christian population in the United States will decline from over 75% of the population to around 65%.<\/p>\n
By 2050, Judaism will be overtaken by Islam as the second biggest religion in the US, Pew said.<\/p>\n
Pew’s projections take into account the current size and geographic distribution of the world\u2019s major religions; age differences; fertility and mortality rates; international migration; and patterns in conversion.<\/p>\n
With the exception of Buddhists, all of the world\u2019s major religious groups are poised for at least some growth in absolute numbers in the coming decades.<\/p>\n
The global Buddhist population is expected to be fairly stable because of low fertility rates and aging populations in countries such as China, Thailand and Japan.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Projected changes<\/p><\/div>\n
Group<\/strong><\/td>\n| 2010 Population<\/strong><\/td>\n | % of world population in 2010<\/strong><\/td>\n | Projected 2050 Population<\/strong><\/td>\n | % of world population in 2050<\/strong><\/td>\n | Population Growth 2010 – 2050<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Christians<\/td>\n | 2,168,330,000<\/td>\n | 31.4%<\/td>\n | 2,918,070,000<\/td>\n | 31.4%<\/td>\n | 35%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Muslims<\/td>\n | 1,599,700,000<\/td>\n | 23.2%<\/td>\n | 2,761,480,000<\/td>\n | 29.7%<\/td>\n | 73%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Unaffiliated<\/td>\n | 1,131,150,000<\/td>\n | 16.4%<\/td>\n | 1,230,340,000<\/td>\n | 13.2%<\/td>\n | 9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Hindus<\/td>\n | 1,032,210,000<\/td>\n | 15.0%<\/td>\n | 1,384,360,000<\/td>\n | 14.9%<\/td>\n | 34%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Buddhists<\/td>\n | 487,760,000<\/td>\n | 7.1%<\/td>\n | 486,270,000<\/td>\n | 5.2%<\/td>\n | -0.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Folk Religions<\/td>\n | 404,690,000<\/td>\n | 5.9%<\/td>\n | 449,140,000<\/td>\n | 4.8%<\/td>\n | 11%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Other religions<\/td>\n | 58,150,000<\/td>\n | 0.8%<\/td>\n | 61,450,000<\/td>\n | 0.7%<\/td>\n | 6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Jews<\/td>\n | 13,860,000<\/td>\n | 0.2%<\/td>\n | 16,090,000<\/td>\n | 0.2%<\/td>\n | 16%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | World Total<\/strong><\/td>\n | 6,895,850,000<\/strong><\/td>\n | 100.0%<\/strong><\/td>\n | 9,307,190,000<\/strong><\/td>\n | 100.0%<\/strong><\/td>\n | 35%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n | Looking beyond 2050, assuming that the trends outlined by Pew continue unabated, the global Muslim population would hit an equal share with Christians in 2070, with a 32% share each.<\/p>\n The Muslim population would only exceed the Christian population in the year 2100, where the former would account for 35% of the population, versus the latter’s 34%.<\/p>\n “This report describes how the global religious landscape would change if current demographic trends continue,” the group noted.<\/p>\n “With each passing year, however, there is a chance that unforeseen events \u2013 war, famine, disease, technological innovation, political upheaval, etc. \u2013 will alter the size of one religious group or another.”<\/p>\n “Owing to the difficulty of peering more than a few decades into the future, the projections stop at 2050,” Pew said.<\/p>\n Sub-Saharan Africa<\/h3>\nThe following maps show the regional break-down of major religions across the globe as of 2010. It includes a break-down of Sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n The 2001 census for South Africa found that 79.8% of the population (35,7 million people), were Christian, up from 75.5% in 1996.<\/p>\n As many as 6.76 million people, or 15.1% of the population had no religion, while 1.4% were uncertain or had no religion.<\/p>\n Islam accounted for 1.5% of South Africans, or 654,000 people in 2001, while Hinduism accounted for 1.2% (552,000), African traditional belief 0.3%, Judaism 0.2% and other non-Christian religions 0.6%.<\/p>\n The Census 2011 form did not include any questions about religion.<\/p>\n Pew’s research for 2010 shows that while Muslim religion still accounts for 1.5% of the population, it has increased to more than 700,000 people. Christianity accounted for more than 80% of the SA population in 2010.<\/p>\n The following maps show the number of Christians and Muslims in South Africa in 2010.<\/p>\n Muslims in South Africa 2010<\/p><\/div>\n |