The Pew study ranks 201 countries based on how evenly religious communities are represented, with Singapore topping the list and several South Asian nations scoring low.
A temple, mosque and church seen within the same urban skyline, reflecting religious diversity.
India ranks among the more religiously diverse countries in the world, while Pakistan and Bangladesh are placed near the bottom of the global Religious Diversity Index (RDI), according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. The findings are based on data from 2020 and look at how evenly different religious communities are spread within each country. In simple terms, the study tried to measure whether a nation is dominated by one religion or home to a more balanced mix.
Researchers reviewed 201 countries and territories and grouped people into seven broad categories: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, followers of other religions, and those with no religious affiliation. Each country was then given a score between 0 and 10. A higher score means the population is more evenly shared among these groups, while a lower score suggests that one religion makes up most of the population.
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Singapore emerged as the world’s most religiously diverse country, scoring 9.3 on the index. No country achieved a perfect 10, but Singapore came closest to an even balance among major religious groups. Buddhists form 31 per cent of its population, followed by religiously unaffiliated people (20 per cent), Christians (19 per cent), Muslims (16 per cent), Hindus (5 per cent) and others (9 per cent).
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Suriname ranked second, while Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, Mauritius, Guinea-Bissau, Togo and Benin were also in the top 10. France was the only European country to feature in this group.
In contrast, Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia were among the least diverse, with Muslims accounting for 99 per cent or more of their populations.
When focusing on the world’s 10 most populous countries, the United States (RDI rank 32) ranked first in religious diversity, followed by Nigeria (34), Russia (47), India (78), and Brazil (83). Bangladesh and Pakistan were among the least diverse of the large nations studied, ranking 133rd and 165th respectively. Muslims account for about 91 per cent of Bangladesh’s population and 97 per cent of Pakistan’s.
Overall, the Asia-Pacific region recorded the highest level of diversity among global regions, while the Middle East-North Africa region was the least diverse.
The study noted that in most countries, a single religious group forms a majority. Only a small number of countries have four or more religious groups, each making up at least 5 per cent of the population.
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