India to have world's largest Muslim population by 2050

India will have the world’s largest Muslim population, overtaking Indonesia, by 2050, says a study. The study done by Pew Research Centre predicts the Hindu population will increase by 34 percent worldwide, which will take the number from over 1 billion to 1.4 billion by 2050. The Hindus will be placed at third with nearly 14.9 percent of the world’s total population, followed by people who aren’t affiliated with any religion accounting for nearly 13.2 percent.

The research said Muslims are projected to grow faster than the world’s average growth rate, while Hindus and Christians will keep pace with the global population growth rate. By 2050, the population of Muslims and Christians will be at par with each other, with the former accounting for 2.8 billion (30 percent) and the latter 2.9 billion (31 percent of the total population). Over the next three decades, Christians will continue to be the largest religious group in the world, but Muslims will grow faster than any other religious group. If the growth continues at this rate, Muslims will be the largest group by 2060-70.

“India will retain a Hindu majority but also will have the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, surpassing Indonesia,” the study said.

By 2050, the Muslim population in Europe will be almost 10 percent of total population, up from 5.9 percent in 2010. During the same period, the number of Hindus in Europe is expected to nearly double, from 1.4 million (0.2 percent) to 2.7 million (0.4 percent). In North America, Hindus population will nearly double by 2050, from 0.7 percent in 2010 to 1.3 percent, only if migration continues. Buddhism is the only faith that is not expected to increase, mainly owing to its ageing population and stable fertility rates in Buddhist countries like China, Japan and Thailand.

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