The Future of the Global Muslim Population

Pew Research Center"s Forum on Religion & Public Life based in Washington projects that one out of every four will be Muslim in the world in the next two decades.

The world"s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to new population projections by the Pew Forum.

The report “The Future of the Global Muslim Population: Projections for 2010-2030” releases striking results. 220 paged report announces that the Muslim population is forecast to grow at about twice the rate of the non-Muslim population over the next two decades. If current trends continue, Muslims will make up 26.4% of the world"s total projected population of 8.3 billion in 2030, up from 23.4% of the estimated 2010 world population of 6.9 billion.

Brian J. Grim, Senior Researcher at Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life evaluates the future of Muslim population living in Europe as follows:

“We expect that the Muslim population will reach 58 million in 2030 although it was calculated as 44 million in 2010. So the Muslims who made up 6 % of European population will make up 8 % of it in 2030.”

Grim also pointed out that there are regional differences in Europe. In the United Kingdom, for example, Muslims are expected to account for 8.2% of the population in 2030, up from an estimated 4.6% today. In Austria, Muslims are projected to reach 9.3% of the population in 2030, up from 5.7% today; in Sweden, 9.9% (up from 4.9% today); in Belgium, 10.2% (up from 6% today); and in France, 10.3% (up from 7.5% today). The number of Muslims living in Germany is around 4 million and 100 thousand. It is estimated that in- 2030, the Muslims living in Germany will reach to 5 million and 500 thousand.

The researchers estimate that in the future 10 % of total Europe population will be made up by Muslims.