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Christian Statistics: The Largest Christian Populations
Lists on this page:
- Top 10 Largest National Christian Populations
- Top 10 Most Christian States in the U.S.A., 1990
Christian statistics: The following list shows the countries with the largest numbers of Christians. Christianity, as defined for the purpose of census and surveys, includes all those who claim to be Christian. This includes varying degrees of religious activity, from essentially non-participating but still-nominal Christians to active full-communicants and life-long clergy. These numbers also include adherents of different divisions within Christianity, including Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, African Indigenous Churches and others.
Top 10 Largest National Christian Populations
| Rank | Nation | Number | Percent |
| 1 |
USA |
224,457,000 |
85% |
| 2 |
Brazil |
139,000,000 |
93% |
| 3 |
Mexico |
86,120,000 |
99% |
| 4 |
Russia |
80,000,000 |
60% |
| 5 |
China |
70,000,000 |
5.7% |
| 6 |
Germany |
67,000,000 |
83% |
| 7 |
Philippines |
63,470,000 |
93% |
| 8 |
United Kingdom |
51,060,000 |
88% |
| 9 |
Italy |
47,690,000 |
90% |
| 10 |
France |
44,150,000 |
98% |
| 11 |
Nigeria |
38,180,000 |
45% |
Source for these Christian statistics: Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997), pg. 160-161; December Advance Newsletter, 1996, Kainos Press; Adherents.com.
NOTE: There are many countries where very high percentages (95 to nearly 100%) of the population are Christians. There are so many, and they represent such a wide range of difficult-to-compare compositions in terms of activity, membership in European state churches, affiliation, etc., that it would be difficult to create a meaningful top 10 list of countries with the highest percentages of Christians. Please refer to the full Adherents.com for such information.
Top 10 Most Christian States in the U.S.A.
(Organizationally reported/affiliated adherents of Christian churches, 1990)
| Rank | State | Percent | Number |
| 1 |
Utah |
79.60% |
1,371,000 |
| 2 |
North Dakota |
75.90 |
485,000 |
| 3 |
Rhode Island |
75.10 |
754,000 |
| 4 |
Alabama |
70.70 |
2,858,000 |
| 5 |
Louisiana |
70.10 |
2,959,000 |
| 6 |
Mississippi |
70.10 |
1,804,000 |
| 7 |
South Dakota |
68.10 |
474,000 |
| 8 |
Oklahoma |
66.50 |
2,097,000 |
| 9 |
Minnesota |
64.20 |
2,807,000 |
| 10 |
Wisconsin |
63.90 |
3,125,000 |
Christian church adherents were defined as "all members, including full members, their children and the estimated number of other regular participants who are not considered as communicant, confirmed or full members."
Source: Table: Christian Church Adherents, U.S. States, 1990 in Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1997 (117th Edition); Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce (October 1997). Data reprinted from M. Bradley; N. Green, Jr.; D. Jones; M. Lynn; and L. McNeil; Churches and Church Membership in the United States 1990, Glenmary Research Center, Atlanta, GA.
Top 10 Most Christian States in the U.S.A.
(Organizationally reported/affiliated members of Christian churches, 1990)
| Rank | State | Percent | Number |
| 1 |
Utah |
75.00% |
1,097,000 |
| 2 |
Rhode Island |
75.00 |
710,000 |
| 3 |
North Dakota |
73.80 |
482,000 |
| 4 |
South Dakota |
66.90 |
462,000 |
| 5 |
Minnesota |
64.90 |
2,644,000 |
| 6 |
Wisconsin |
64.40 |
3,029,000 |
| 7 |
Massachusetts |
64.00 |
3,669,000 |
| 8 |
Nebraska |
63.10 |
990,000 |
| 9 |
Iowa |
60.80 |
1,890,000 |
| 10 |
Connecticut |
60.80 |
1,890,000 |
Source of Christian statistics: Krantz, Les and Jim McCormick. The Peoplepedia: The Ultimate Reference on the American People, Henry Holt and Company: New York (1996), pg. 188: Table: "Top 10 Christian States"; "The table below shows where most religiously affiliated Christians... live, according to the Glenmary Research Center [1990 study]."
See also:
- Major Religions Ranked by Number of Adherents: Christianity - Christianity is ranked as the largest religion in the world. The "Christianity" section of the "Major Religions of the World" page briefly describes the classification of Christianity as a single religion, and what sub-groups are included within this statistical grouping.
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Webpage created 10 August 1999. Last updated 24 January 2000.