Muslims

Muslims

Prayer in Cairo (1865) by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Total population
c. 1.9 billion[1] (25% of the global population)[2][3][4] (Worldwide, 2020 Pew Research Center)
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia	244,410,757[5]
Pakistan	231,690,000[6]
India	194,810,000[7]
Bangladesh	153,700,000[8]
Nigeria	99,100,000[9]
Egypt	95,000,000[10]
Iran	82,900,000[11]
Turkey	82,800,000[12]
Algeria	42,000,000[13]
Sudan	40,400,000[14][15]
Religions
80–90% Sunni Islam[16][17] 10–20% Shia Islam[18][19][20] ~1% Ahmadiyya[21] ~1% Other Islamic traditions[22]
Languages
Arabic (also Sacred), Bengali,[23] Hindustani, Indonesian, Persian, other South Asian languages, African languages, Southeast Asian languages, Turkic languages, Iranian languages, and other Muslim world languages[24][25][26][27]

Muslims (Arabic: المسلمون, romanized: al-Muslimūn, lit. 'submitters [to God]')^[28] are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or Allah) as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet.^[29] Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations, such as the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injeel (Gospel). These earlier revelations are associated with Judaism and Christianity, which are regarded by Muslims as earlier versions of Islam.^[30] The majority of Muslims also follow the teachings and practices attributed to Muhammad (sunnah) as recorded in traditional accounts (hadith).^[31]

With an estimated population of almost 1.9 billion followers as of 2020 year estimation, Muslims comprise around 25% of the world's total population.^[1] In descending order, the percentage of people who identify as Muslims on each continental landmass stands at:^[32] 45% of Africa, 25% of Asia and Oceania collectively,^[33] 6% of Europe,^[34] and 1% of the Americas.^{[35][36][37][38]} Additionally, in subdivided geographical regions, the figure stands at: 91% of the Middle East–North Africa,^[39][40][41] 90% of Central Asia,^[42][43][44] 65% of the Caucasus,^{[45][46][47][48][49][50]} 42% of Southeast Asia,^[51][52] 32% of South Asia,^[53][54] and 42% of sub-Saharan Africa.^[55][56]

While, there are several Islamic schools and branches, as well as non-denominational Muslims, the two largest denominations are Sunni Islam (75–90% of all Muslims)^[57] and Shia Islam (10–20% of all Muslims).^[18][19][20] By sheer numbers, South Asia accounts for the largest portion (31%) of the global Muslim population.^[58][59] By country, Indonesia is the largest in the Muslim world, holding around 12% of all Muslims worldwide;^[60][61] with Pakistan having the second largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia.^[62] Outside of the Muslim-majority countries, India and China are home to the largest (11%) and second-largest (2%) Muslim populations, respectively.^[63][64][65] Due to high Muslim population growth, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world.^[66][67][68] Muslims have experienced persecution of varying severity, especially in China, India, some parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia.^{[69][70][71][72]}