In 2010, there were around 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, the report , noting that the figure amounted to roughly 23 percent of the world’s population.
Islam is currently the world’s fastest growing religion and the second-largest after Christianity.
Christians roughly 31 percent of the global population in 2010, or about 2.2 billion.
By 2050, however, the number of followers of the world’s two largest religions may become equal.
“If current demographic trends continue, the number of Muslims is expected to exceed the number of Christians by the end of this century,” Pew says.
Muslim women across the globe have 3.1 children on average, compared to only 2.3 for all other groups.
The results also indicate that on average, followers of Islam are becoming younger – seven years younger than the median age of non-Muslims.
“As a result, a larger share of Muslims already are, or will soon be, at the point in their lives when they begin having children. This, combined with high fertility rates, will fuel Muslim population growth,” Pew says.
Pew says that “10% of all Europeans will be Muslims by 2050,” while Muslims in the US will make up 2.1 percent of the population by mid-century, “surpassing people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion as the second-largest faith group in the country.”
American views on Islam tend to be split along party lines. Democrats give a more positive rating for Muslims and Islam (56), while republicans say they are very concerned.