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Muslims are the fastest-growing religious group in the world. The growth and regional migration of Muslims, combined with the ongoing impact of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) and other extremist groups that commit acts of violence in the proper name of Islam, take brought Muslims and the Islamic religion to the forefront of the political contend in many countries. Withal many facts nearly Muslims are not well known in some of these places, and well-nigh Americans – who live in a country with a relatively pocket-size Muslim population – have said they know little or naught about Islam.

Hither are answers to some cardinal questions about Muslims, compiled from several Pew Research Centre reports published in recent years:

How many Muslims are there? Where do they live?

There were ane.8 billion Muslims in the world as of 2015 – roughly 24% of the global population – according to a Pew Inquiry Center judge. Just while Islam is currently the world'south 2d-largest religion (afterwards Christianity), it is the fastest-growing major religion. Indeed, if current demographic trends continue, the number of Muslims is expected to exceed the number of Christians by the end of this century.

Although many countries in the Heart East-N Africa region, where the faith originated in the 7th century, are heavily Muslim, the region is home to merely about 20% of the earth'due south Muslims. A majority of the Muslims globally (62%) live in the Asia-Pacific region, including large populations in Republic of indonesia, Republic of india, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Islamic republic of iran and Turkey.

Indonesia is currently the country with the world's largest Muslim population, but Pew Research Center projects that Republic of india will have that distinction by the year 2050 (while remaining a majority-Hindu country), with more than 300 meg Muslims.

The Muslim population in Europe too is growing; we project 10% of all Europeans will be Muslims past 2050.

How many Muslims are in that location in the United States?

According to our judge, there are about 3.45 million Muslims of all ages in the U.S., or well-nigh 1.1% of the U.S. population. This is based on an analysis of census statistics and information from a 2017 survey of U.Due south. Muslims, which was conducted in English as well as Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. Based on the same analysis, Pew Inquiry Center besides estimates that there are two.15 million Muslim adults in the country, and that a majority of them (58%) are immigrants.

Our demographic projections estimate that Muslims will make up ii.1% of the U.S. population by the year 2050, surpassing people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion as the second-largest faith grouping in the state (non including people who say they have no religion).

A 2013 Pew Enquiry Center written report estimated that the Muslim share of immigrants granted permanent residency status (green cards) increased from about 5% in 1992 to roughly 10% in 2012, representing about 100,000 immigrants in that year.

Why is the global Muslim population growing?

There are two major factors behind the rapid projected growth of Islam, and both involve simple demographics. For one, Muslims accept more children than members of other religious groups. Around the world, each Muslim woman has an average of 2.9 children, compared with two.2 for all other groups combined.

Muslims are also the youngest (median age of 24 years old in 2015) of all major religious groups, vii years younger than the median historic period of non-Muslims. Every bit a result, a larger share of Muslims already are, or will shortly be, at the point in their lives when they begin having children. This, combined with high fertility rates, will fuel Muslim population growth.

While it does non change the global population, migration is helping to increase the Muslim population in some regions, including N America and Europe.

How do Americans view Muslims and Islam?

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2017 asked Americans to rate members of nine religious groups on a "feeling thermometer" from 0 to 100, where 0 reflects the coldest, most negative possible rating and 100 the warmest, most positive rating. Overall, Americans gave Muslims an average rating of 48 degrees, similar to atheists (50).

Americans view more warmly the vii other religious groups mentioned in the survey (Jews, Catholics, mainline Protestants, evangelical Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Mormons). But views toward Muslims (every bit well as several of the other groups) are now warmer than they were a few years agone; in 2014, U.S. adults gave Muslims an boilerplate rating of 40 degrees in a similar survey.

Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Political party gave Muslims an average rating of 39, considerably cooler than Democrats' rating toward Muslims (56).

This partisan gap extends to several other questions virtually Muslims and Islam. Indeed, Republicans and Republican leaners also are more likely than Democrats and those who lean Democratic to say they are very concerned most extremism in the name of Islam, both effectually the globe (67% vs. forty%) and in the U.S. (64% vs. 30%). In improver, a December 2016 survey establish that more than Republicans than Democrats say Islam is likelier than other religions to encourage violence among its believers (63% vs. 26% of Democrats). And while nigh Americans (69%) believe there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S. today, views are once more divide by party: 85% of Democrats and those who lean Democratic and 49% of Republicans and GOP leaners hold this view.

Republicans also are more likely than Democrats to say that Islam is not part of mainstream American society (68% vs. 37%) and that in that location is a natural disharmonize between Islam and democracy (65% vs. 30%).

Nearly half of Americans (49%) call up at least "some" U.Southward. Muslims are anti-American, greater than the share who say "simply a few" or "none" are anti-American, co-ordinate to a January 2016 survey. Views on this question accept get much more partisan in the final 14 years (see graphic). Only about Americans practise not encounter widespread support for extremism among Muslims living in the U.Due south., according to a February 2017 survey. Overall, 40% say in that location is non much back up for extremism amongst U.S. Muslims, while an additional 15% say in that location is none at all. About a quarter say at that place is a fair amount of back up (24%) for extremism amid U.Southward. Muslims; 11% say there is a bully bargain of support.

How do Europeans view Muslims?

In spring 2016, nosotros asked residents of 10 European counties for their impression of how many Muslims in their land back up extremist groups, such as ISIS. In most cases, the prevailing view is that "merely some" or "very few" Muslims support ISIS, but in Italian republic, 46% say "many" or "most" exercise.

The same survey asked Europeans whether they viewed Muslims favorably or unfavorably. Perceptions varied beyond European nations: Majorities in Republic of hungary, Italy, Poland and Greece say they view Muslims unfavorably, while negative attitudes toward Muslims are much less common in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Northern and Western Europe. People who place themselves on the right side of the ideological scale are much more likely than those on the left to see Muslims negatively.

What characteristics do people in the Muslim world and people in the West associate with each other?

A 2011 survey asked most characteristics Westerners and Muslims may acquaintance with one another. Across the seven Muslim-bulk countries and territories surveyed, a median of 68% of Muslims said they view Westerners as selfish. Considerable shares also called Westerners other negative adjectives, including violent (median of 66%), greedy (64%) and immoral (61%), while fewer attributed positive characteristics like "respectful of women" (44%), honest (33%) and tolerant (31%) to Westerners.

Westerners' views of Muslims were more than mixed. A median of 50% across four Western European countries, the U.S. and Russian federation called Muslims vehement and a median of 58% called them "fanatical," but fewer used negative words like greedy, immoral or selfish. A median of just 22% of Westerners said Muslims are respectful of women, but far more said Muslims are honest (median of 51%) and generous (41%).

What do Muslims around the globe believe?

Like any religious grouping, the religious beliefs and practices of Muslims vary depending on many factors, including where in the globe they live. Only Muslims around the world are almost universally united by a conventionalities in one God and the Prophet Muhammad, and the practice of certain religious rituals, such as fasting during Ramadan, is widespread.

In other areas, yet, in that location is less unity. For instance, a Pew Research Center survey of Muslims in 39 countries asked Muslims whether they desire sharia police force, a legal code based on the Quran and other Islamic scripture, to exist the official law of the land in their country. Responses on this question vary widely. Nigh all Muslims in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan (99%) and most in Iraq (91%) and Pakistan (84%) back up sharia law as official police. But in some other countries, especially in Eastern Europe and Primal Asia – including Turkey (12%), Republic of kazakhstan (x%) and Republic of azerbaijan (8%) – relatively few favor the implementation of sharia law.

How do Muslims feel about groups similar ISIS?

Recent surveys prove that well-nigh people in several countries with significant Muslim populations have an unfavorable view of ISIS, including near all respondents in Lebanon and 94% in Hashemite kingdom of jordan. Relatively small shares say they encounter ISIS favorably. In some countries, considerable portions of the population do not offering an stance about ISIS, including a bulk (62%) of Pakistanis.

Favorable views of ISIS are somewhat higher in Nigeria (xiv%) than virtually other nations. Among Nigerian Muslims, xx% say they see ISIS favorably (compared with 7% of Nigerian Christians). The Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, which has been conducting a terrorist campaign in the country for years, has sworn allegiance to ISIS.

More generally, Muslims by and large say that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians in the proper name of Islam are rarely or never justified, including 92% in Indonesia and 91% in Iraq. In the The states, a 2011 survey found that 86% of Muslims say such tactics are rarely or never justified. An additional 7% say suicide bombings are sometimes justified and 1% say they are often justified.

In a few countries, a quarter or more than of Muslims say these acts of violence are at to the lowest degree sometimes justified, including twoscore% in the Palestinian territories, 39% in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, 29% in Egypt and 26% in Bangladesh.

In many cases, people in countries with large Muslim populations are as concerned as Western nations about the threat of Islamic extremism, and accept get increasingly concerned in contempo years. Virtually two-thirds of people in Nigeria (68%) and Lebanese republic (67%) said in 2016 that they arevery concerned about Islamic extremism in their country, both up significantly since 2013.

What practice American Muslims believe?

Our 2017 survey of U.S. Muslims finds that Muslims in the United States perceive a lot of bigotry against their religious grouping. Moreover, a solid bulk of U.S. Muslims are leery of President Donald Trump and think their young man Americans exercise not see Islam every bit part of mainstream U.S. lodge. At the same time, nevertheless, Muslim Americans overwhelmingly say they are proud to be Americans, believe that difficult work by and large brings success in this land and are satisfied with the way things are going in their own lives.

Half of Muslim Americans say it has get harder to be Muslim in the U.South. in recent years. And 48% say they have experienced at to the lowest degree one incident of discrimination in the past 12 months. Only alongside these reports of bigotry, a similar – and growing – share (49%) of Muslim Americans say someone has expressed support for them because of their organized religion in the past year. And 55% remember Americans in general are friendly toward U.S. Muslims, compared with only fourteen% who say they are unfriendly.

Living in a religiously pluralistic society, Muslim Americans are more likely than Muslims in many other largely Muslim-bulk nations to have a lot of non-Muslim friends. But about a 3rd (36%) of U.S. Muslims say all or almost of their close friends are also Muslims, compared with a global median of 95% in the 39 countries we surveyed.

Roughly two-thirds of U.Southward. Muslims (65%) say religion is very important in their lives. About six-in-ten (59%) study praying at least daily and 43% say they nourish religious services at least weekly. By some of these traditional measures, Muslims in the U.Southward. are roughly as religious every bit U.S. Christians, although they are less religious than Muslims in many other nations.

When it comes to political and social views, Muslims are far more than probable to identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party (66%) than the Republican Political party (13%) and to say they prefer a bigger government providing more services (67%) over a smaller government providing fewer services (25%). And about half of U.S. Muslims (52%) now say homosexuality should exist accepted by society, up considerably from 2011 (39%) and 2007 (27%).

What is the difference between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims?

Sunnis and Shiites are two subgroups of Muslims, only as Catholics and Protestants are two subgroups within Christianity. The Sunni-Shiite divide is nearly 1,400 years old, dating dorsum to a dispute over the succession of leadership in the Muslim customs following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. While the 2 groups agree on some core tenets of Islam, in that location are differences in behavior and practices, and in some cases Sunnis do not consider Shiites to exist Muslims.

With the exception of a few countries, including Iran (which is majority Shiite) too as Republic of iraq and Lebanese republic (which are dissever), most nations with a big number of Muslims accept more Sunnis than Shiites. In the U.South., 55% identify as Sunnis and 16% as Shiites (with the rest identifying with neither group, including some who say they are but a Muslim).

Note: This mail was updated on Aug. nine, 2017. Information technology was originally published Dec. 7, 2015.

Correction: U.S. Muslim population estimates in this postal service, including the chart "Number of Muslims in the U.South. continues to grow," were corrected on Nov. xiv, 2017. For details, seeAppendix B: Survey Methodology, note 37 , of the study "U.S. Muslims Concerned Nigh Their Place in Guild, but Continue to Believe in the American Dream."

Related posts:

In many ways, Muslim men and women see life in America differently

U.South. Muslims are religiously observant, but open to multiple interpretations of Islam

Michael Lipka is an editorial manager of religion research at Pew Research Center.