Protestantism by country

Distribution of Protestants
Percentage of Protestants by country
Number of Protestants by country
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    There are 0.8 — 1.05 billion Protestants worldwide,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][a] among approximately 2.5 billion Christians.[10][1][11][12][b] In 2010, a total of more than 800 million included 300 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million in the Americas, 140 million in Asia-Pacific region, 100 million in Europe and 2 million in Middle East-North Africa.[2] Protestants account for nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide and more than one tenth of the total human population.[2] Various estimates put the percentage of Protestants in relation to the total number of the world's Christians at 33%,[5] 36%,[13] 36.7%,[2] and 40%,[3] while in relation to the world's population at 11.6%[2] and 13%.[8]

    In European countries which were most profoundly influenced by the Reformation, Protestantism still remains the most practiced religion.[5] These include the Nordic countries and United Kingdom.[5][14] In other historical Protestant strongholds such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia and Hungary, it remains one of the most popular religions.[15] Although Czech Republic was the site of one of the most significant pre-reformation movements,[16] there are only few Protestant adherents;[17][18] mainly due to historical reasons like persecution of Protestants by the Catholic Habsburgs,[19] restrictions during the Communist rule, and also the ongoing secularization.[16] Over the last several decades, religious practice has been declining as secularization has increased.[5][20] According to a 2019 study about religiosity in the European Union (EU) by Eurobarometer, Protestants made up 9% of the EU population.[21] According to Pew Research Center, Protestants constituted nearly one fifth (or 17.8%) of the continent's Christian population in 2010.[2] Clarke and Beyer estimate that Protestants constituted 15% of all Europeans in 2009, while Noll claims that less than 12% of them lived in Europe in 2010.[5][7]

    Changes in worldwide Protestantism over the last century have been significant.[3][7][22] Since 1900, Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America.[23][8][22] That caused Protestantism to be called a primarily non-Western religion.[7][22] Much of the growth has occurred after World War II, when decolonization of Africa and abolition of various restrictions against Protestants in Latin American countries occurred.[8] According to one source, Protestants constituted respectively 2.5% of South Americans, 2% of Africans, and 0.5% of Asians in 1900.[8] In 2000, these percentages had increased to 17%, more than 27%, and 5.5%, respectively.[8] According to Mark A. Noll, 79% of Anglicans lived in the United Kingdom in 1910, while most of the remainder were found in the United States and across the British Commonwealth.[7] By 2010, 59% of Anglicans were found in Africa.[7] China is home to the world's largest Protestant minority.[2][c]

    Protestantism is growing in Africa,[23][24][25] Asia,[23][25][26] Latin America,[25][27] and Oceania,[23][22] while remaining stable or declining in Anglo America[22] and Europe,[5][28] with some exceptions such as France,[29] where it was legally eradicated after the abolition of the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau and the following persecution of Huguenots, but now is claimed to be stable in number or even growing slightly.[29] According to some, Russia is another country to see Protestant growth.[30][31][32] However, "by 2050 it is expected that less than 9% of Protestants will be European" and "sometime around 2040 half of all Protestants will likely live in Africa."[33]

    In 2010, the largest Protestant denominational families were historically Pentecostal denominations (10.8%), Anglican (10.6%), Lutheran (9.7%), Baptist (9%), United and uniting churches (unions of different denominations) (7.2%), Presbyterian or Reformed (7%), Methodist (3.4%), Adventist (2.7%), Congregationalist (0.5%), Brethren (0.5%), The Salvation Army (0.3%) and Moravian (0.1%). Other denominations accounted for 38.2% of Protestants.[2]

    The United States is home to approximately 20% of Protestants.[2] According to a 2019 study, Protestant share of U.S. population dropped to 43%, further ending its status as religion of the majority.[34][35][36] The decline is attributed mainly to the dropping membership of the Mainline Protestant churches [35][37] and even among Evangelical Protestant churches[38][39] while Black churches are relatively stable or continue to grow.[35]

    According to Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States, a review of American Nobel prizes winners awarded between 1901 and 1972 by Harriet Zuckerman, 72% of American Nobel Prize laureates came from Protestant backgrounds.[40] Overall, Protestants have won a total of 84.2% of all the American Nobel Prizes in Chemistry,[40] 60% in Medicine,[40] 58.6% in Physics,[40] between 1901 and 1972.

    By 2050, some project Protestantism to rise to slightly more than half of the world's total Christian population.[41][d] According to Hans J. Hillerbrand, Protestant and Catholic share of the global Christian population will almost be the same by 2050, with Protestants exhibiting a significantly higher growth rate.[42]

    According to Mark Juergensmeyer of the University of California, popular Protestantism[e] is the most dynamic religious movement in the contemporary world, alongside resurgent Islam.[43]

    1. ^ a b c "Status of Global Christianity, 2024, in the Context of 1900–2050" (PDF). Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
    2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Christian Traditions" (Web). Pew Research Center. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
    3. ^ a b c Hillerbrand, Hans J. (2 August 2004). Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Routledge. ISBN 9781135960285. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    4. ^ "CCC - Global Statistics". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
    5. ^ a b c d e f g Clarke, Peter B.; Beyer, Peter (7 May 2009). The World's Religions. ISBN 9781135211004. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    6. ^ Brown, Stephen F.; Palmer, Martin (2009). Protestantism. ISBN 9781604131123. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    7. ^ a b c d e f Noll, Mark A. (25 August 2011). Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction. ISBN 9780191620133. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    8. ^ a b c d e f Jay Diamond, Larry. Plattner, Marc F. and Costopoulos, Philip J. World Religions and Democracy. 2005, page 119. link (saying "Not only do Protestants presently constitute 13 percent of the world's population—about 800 million people—but since 1900 Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.")
    9. ^ Hillerbrand, Hans J. (2 August 2004). Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set. Routledge. ISBN 9781135960285 – via Google Books.
    10. ^ 33.39% of 7.174 billion world population (as of 2014; under the section "People and Society") "World". CIA world facts. 19 October 2021.
    11. ^ "Major Religions Ranked by Size". Adherents.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. Retrieved 5 May 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    12. ^ "Global Christianity". Pew Research Center. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
    13. ^ "Protestant Demographics and Fragmentations". Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    14. ^ "Religious Populations in England". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
    15. ^ Thorpe, Edgar (2012). The Pearson General Knowledge Manual 2012. ISBN 9788131761908. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    16. ^ a b "Protestantism in Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic) - Musée virtuel du Protestantisme". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    17. ^ "Tab 7.1 Population by religious belief and by municipality size groups" (PDF) (in Czech). Czso.cz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
    18. ^ "Tab 7.2 Population by religious belief and by regions" (PDF) (in Czech). Czso.cz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
    19. ^ Mastrini, Hana (16 June 2008). Frommer's Prague & the Best of the Czech Republic. ISBN 9780470293232. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    20. ^ Lilla, Mark (31 March 2006). "Europe and the legend of secularization". The New York Times.
    21. ^ "Discrimination in the EU in 2019", Special Eurobarometer, 493, European Union: European Commission, p. 230, 2019, retrieved 12 September 2020
    22. ^ a b c d e Witte, John; Alexander, Frank S. (2007). The Teachings of Modern Protestantism on Law, Politics, and Human Nature. ISBN 9780231142632. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    23. ^ a b c d Gordon Melton, J. (2005). Encyclopedia of Protestantism. ISBN 9780816069835. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    24. ^ "Study: Christianity growth soars in Africa". USA Today. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    25. ^ a b c Ostling, Richard N. (24 June 2001). "The Battle for Latin America's Soul". Time. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    26. ^ "In China, Protestantism's Simplicity Yields More Converts Than Catholicism". International Business Times. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    27. ^ Arsenault, Chris (26 March 2012). "Evangelicals rise in Latin America". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    28. ^ Halman, Loek; Riis, Ole (2003). Religion in a Secularizing Society. ISBN 9004126228. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    29. ^ a b Sengers, Erik; Sunier, Thijl (2010). Religious Newcomers and the Nation State. ISBN 9789059723986. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    30. ^ "Moscow Church Spearheads Russia Revival". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    31. ^ "Protestantism in Postsoviet Russia: An Unacknowledged Triumph" (PDF).
    32. ^ Felix Corley and Geraldine Fagan. "Growing Protestants, Catholics Draw Ire". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    33. ^ Dr.Todd M.Johnson, "Protestans Around the World," World Christian Encyclopedia Edinburgh University Press, 3rd edition, 2019.
    34. ^ "In US, Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace," Pew Research Center, 17 October 2019
    35. ^ a b c ""Nones" on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
    36. ^ "BBC News - US Protestants no longer a majority - study". BBC News. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    37. ^ "Mainline Churches: The Real Reason for Decline". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
    38. ^ Gregory A. Smith, "About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated," Pew Research Center, 2021/12/14.
    39. ^ David Brooks, "The Dissenters Trying to Save Evangelicalism," The New York Times, 6 February 2022, 4-5. Brooks notes the following: "In 2005, 23% of Americans were white evangelical Protestants, according to the Public Religion Research Institute. By 2020, that share was down to 14.5%. By 2020, 22% of Americans 65 and older were white evangelical Protestants. Among adults 18-29, only 7% were."
    40. ^ a b c d Harriet Zuckerman, Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States New York, The Free Press, 1977, p.68: Protestants turn up among the American-reared laureates in slightly greater proportion to their numbers in the general population. Thus 72 percent of the seventy-one laureates but about two thirds of the American population were reared in one or another Protestant denomination-)
    41. ^ Johnstone, Patrick (17 January 2014). The Future of the Global Church: History, Trends and Possibilities. InterVarsity Press. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-8308-5695-4. Fig 4.10 & Fig 4.11 in page 100
    42. ^ Hillerbrand, Hans J. (2 August 2004). Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume set. Routledge. p. 3242. ISBN 978-1-135-96027-8. Observers carefully comparing all these figures in the total context will have observed the even more startling finding that for the first time ever in the history of Protestantism, Wider Protestants will by 2050 have become almost exactly as numerous as Roman Catholics - each with just over 1.5 billion followers, or 17 percent of the world, with Protestants growing considerably faster than Catholics each year.
    43. ^ Juergensmeyer, Mark (3 November 2005). Religion in Global Civil Society. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780198040699 – via Google Books.


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