The articles reviewed support a decrease in Christianity and an increase in Islam with Hinduism and Buddhism maintaining a stable percentage of the total. The following chart provides the most recent Wikipedia statistics for estimated numbers of adherents in the major religions and the percentage they are of world totals. (Please use directional arrows to view all of the table on your computer or your finger to move page if on your tablets or phone.)
| Religion | Adherents (millions) | Percentage |
| Christianity | 2,382.0 | 31.11% |
| Islam | 1,907.0 | 24.90% |
| Secular[1]/Nonreligious[2]/Agnostic/ Atheist | 1,193.0 | 15.58% |
| Hinduism | 1,161.0 | 15.16% |
| Buddhism[3] | 506.0 | 5.06% |
| Chinese traditional religion[4] | 394.0 | 5.00% |
| Ethnic religions excluding some in separate categories | 300.0 | 3.00% |
| African traditional religions | 100.0 | 1.20% |
| Sikhism | 26.0 | 0.30% |
| Spiritism | 15.0 | 0.19% |
| Judaism | 14.7 | 0.18% |
| Baháʼí | 5.0 | 0.07% |
| Jainism | 4.2 | 0.05% |
| Cao Dai | 4.0 | 0.05% |
| Shinto | 4.0 | 0.05% |
| Zoroastrianism | 2.6 | 0.03% |
| Tenrikyo | 2.0 | 0.02% |
| Animism | 1.9 | 0.02% |
| Neo-Paganism | 1.0 | 0.01% |
| Unitarian Universalism | 0.8 | 0.01% |
| Rastafari | 0.6 | 0.007% |
| TOTAL | 7,790.0 | 100% |
SOURCE: CLICK for Wikipedia article on “List of Religious Populations.”
[1] Secular figures may incorporate populations of secular/nominal adherents as well as syncretist worshipers, although the concept of syncretism is disputed by some.
[2] Nonreligious includes agnostic, atheist, secular humanist, and people answering ‘none’ or no religious preference. Half of this group is theistic but nonreligious. According to a 2012 study by Gallup International “59% of the world said that they think of themselves as religious person, 23% think of themselves as not religious whereas 13% think of themselves as convinced atheists”.
[3] “Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050”. Pew Research Center. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020 shows the total for Buddhism to be 6.62% of the total as compared to 5.06% shown in the statistics from two other sources. The percentages for the other four top categories are the same for all three sources.
[4] Chinese traditional religion is described as “the common religion of the majority Chinese culture: a combination of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, as well as the traditional non-scriptural/local practices and beliefs.”
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