Christianity Declines In Europe, Increases in Africa and Asia, Says Survey
The number of Christians in Africa, Asia and the Americas are on the rise, while Christianity is declining in Europe, according to a new survey.
A U.S.-based Pew Forum reports that the number of Christians in the world is currently 2.18 billion, which is one third of the world’s population. This number represents a rise from the 1910 Christian population, when the world has 600 million Christians.
Back then, 66.3 percent of the world’s Christians were Europeans, according to reports. That number, however, has dropped to 25.9 percent. Sub-Saharan Africa’s Christian population is up from 1.4 percent in 1910 to 23.6 percent.
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Christians in the Americas make up 36.8 percent of the population, up from the 1910 figure 27.1 percent, while Asian Christians are up to 13.1 percent. They had 4.5 percent of Christians in 1910.
Christians account for the same percentage of the population that it did in 1910. In fact, there was a slight drop off over the past hundred years. In 1910, Christians made up 35 percent of the population and today, they make up 32 percent.
This was caused by the increase in global population that paralleled an increase in the Christian population. The world’s general population grew from 1.8 billion to 1910 to nearly 7 billion today.
The majority of Christians still live in the Americas and Europe, which boasts 63 percent of all Christians. However, this number is down from 93 percent a century ago. Despite still having the largest Christian population, the Americas reported a drop in Christianity from 98 percent to 86 percent. The European Christians also dropped in percentage from 95 percent to 76 percent.
Over a third of Christians worldwide live in the Americas, where nine of every ten people are Christians. These numbers are a result of the Americas featuring the U.S., Brazil and Mexico, which collectively account for almost a fourth of Christians worldwide.
According to the Pew study, Christianity is now a global faith, unlike a century ago. Christians have spread across the globe, which is a reason for the decline in European Christians. Thanks to this, no one country can be considered as the center of global Christianity.
