Islamic World Map: Muslim Population by Country and Region

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Download the approved table as CSV, or use JSON when you also need the methodology, source links, and update date.

Dataset updated July 13, 2026. Cite the resource page and include this update date.

Citation URL: https://themuslimpost.org/resources/islamic-world-map

What this map is for

A useful Islamic world map has to separate three layers: where the largest Muslim populations live, where Muslims are the majority, and which states belong to political bodies such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

• Population size answers "where do most Muslims live?" Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh matter because of scale.
• Population share answers "which countries are Muslim-majority?" Smaller countries can have a very high Muslim share without ranking high by total population.
• OIC membership is political and diplomatic. It overlaps with the Muslim world but is not the same as a religious-demographic map.
• Diaspora communities in Europe and North America are smaller by share but important for media, migration and public policy discussions.

Regional reading guide

The map should be read by region before comparing countries. Asia-Pacific contains the largest number of Muslims; the Middle East and North Africa contains many Muslim-majority states; Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the fastest-growing Muslim populations; Europe and the Americas are mostly diaspora or minority contexts.

• Asia-Pacific: Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh make the region central to any global Muslim population map.
• Middle East and North Africa: high Muslim shares, many Arabic-speaking countries, and major holy sites and institutions.
• Sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Niger, Mali and Senegal show why Africa cannot be treated as marginal to Muslim demographics.
• Europe, Russia and North America: lower shares, but important communities in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada and the United States.

How to use the numbers

Religious-demographic data is estimated from censuses, surveys and demographic models. Treat exact country counts as approximate, compare sources when precision matters, and prefer update dates over undated viral maps.

• For global trend questions, start with Pew Research Center because it documents religious composition by country and decade.
• For current quick estimates by country, use a current ranking table but check whether it explains ranges and uncertainty.
• For membership questions, use the OIC member-state list rather than a demographic table.

Largest Muslim populations by country

Approximate 2026 public estimates. Counts are rounded, and some countries have wide uncertainty ranges.

Common map categories

These categories answer different demographic and political questions and should not be merged.

FAQ