Countries with Largest Unaffiliated Populations

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

The table below lists the top ten countries with the greatest number of people who identify themselves as religiously unaffiliated. The countries with the highest unaffiliated percentages tend to be communist or formerly communist countries, which usually oppose or restrict religion. 

Country 2010 unaffiliated
population
Percentage of population
that is unaffiliated
Percentage of world
unaffiliated population
China 700,680,000 52.2% 62.2%
Japan 72,120,000 57.0 6.4
United States 50,980,000 16.4 4.5
Vietnam 26,040,000 29.6 2.3
Russia 23,180,000 16.2 2.1
South Korea 22,350,000 46.4 2.0
Germany 20,350,000 24.7 1.8
France 17,580,000 28.0 1.6
North Korea 17,350,000 71.3 1.5
Brazil 15,410,000 7.9 1.4
Subtotal for 10 countries 966,040,000 39.9 85.8
Subtotal for rest of world 160,460,000 3.6 14.2
World total 1,126,500,000 16.3 100.0
Source: Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, Global Religious Landscape, December 2012.


 
 
Sources +