Beginning of records
| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | Afghanistan | - | - | - | - | 1995 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997), pg. 333-367. | "Christianity antedated Muslim conquest in the seventh century but was overcome by it. All inhabitants are subject to the law of Islam. Christian missionaries are prohibited. " |
| Christianity | Afghanistan | 40 | - | - | - | 1985 | Barnhart, Joe Edward. The Southern Baptist Holy War. Austin, Texas: Texas Monthly Press (1986), pg. 173. [original source Homer Duncan, "The Fields Are White, " The Southern Baptist Journal, 13:1 (Jan./Feb. 1985), p. 20.] | "In Afghanistan, a nation of more than 20 million, there is only one Christian in every 500,000 people. " |
| Hazara | Afghanistan | 1,000,000 | 6.90% | - | - | 1989 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Afghanistan ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1989), pg. 40, 43. | "About 14.5 million people live in Afghanistan... "; Pg. 43: "Central Afghanistan is the home of the Hazara [an ethnic group], a Dari-speaking community of fewer than one million people. Their mountainous territory in the Hindu Kush is difficult to farm, and many Hazara have moved to Kabul, where they usually hold jobs that require little education. " |
| Hinduism | Afghanistan | - | 0.60% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: 1998); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | 99.3% Muslim; .6% Hindu; .1% all other (Christian, tribal, etc). Population: 15,551,358 (1979 Census) |
| Islam | Afghanistan | - | - | - | - | 1950 | Zehavi, A.M. (editor) Handbook of the World's Religions. New York: Franklin Watts (1973), pg. 135. | "Islam... In most areas there are no exact censuses, but approximate figures for the mid-20th century are as follows, by major groups:... in Iran and Afghanistan, 27,000,000; in Pakistan, 66,000,000; in India, 40,000,000... " |
| Islam | Afghanistan | 14,400,000 | 99.00% | - | - | 1978 | Welch, Alford T. "Islam " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st published in 1984], pg. 164-165. [Original src: Weeks, R. (ed.), "Muslim Peoples: A World Ethnographic Survey " (1978).] | Table: "Approximate Muslim populations and percentages of total populations " |
| Islam | Afghanistan | 18,000,000 | 99.00% | - | - | 1986 | *LINK* Web site: "Arabic Paper "; web page: "Muslim Countries of the World " (viewed 15 June 1999). [Written 1998.] | [NOTE: Unreliable statistical methodology.] "In 1986, the Muslim Education Trust organization (MET) located in the U.K. and directed by Ghulam Sarwar, obtained the 1971 census & information given by Embassies of the respective countires in London. The 1971 census showed the Independent Muslim countries pop. was around 784.5 Million. "; "If we add (784.5M + 308M [minority Muslim countries]) = 1092.5 Million Muslims in 1971 "; Table shows country, "population " [number of Muslims in the country], & % Muslim. Total adds up to 896,080,000, so these figures are apparently intended to represent estimates for 1986 (not the 1971 figures). |
| Islam | Afghanistan | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Afghanistan ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1989), pg. 44. | "Almost all Afghans are Muslims... Within Afghanistan, most Muslims belong to the Sunni sect, although the Hazara are Shiites. " |
| Islam | Afghanistan | - | 99.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Islam | Afghanistan | 23,500,704 | 99.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%; Total Population: 23,738,085 (July 1997 est.) |
| Islam | Afghanistan | 15,840,000 | 99.00% | - | - | 1997 | Russell, Malcom B. The Middle East and South Asia 1997 (The World Today Series). Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications (1997), pg. 34. | Estimates of % of population in principal religions, & est. 1997 total pop. |
| Islam | Afghanistan | 24,544,452 | 99.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook 1998 (viewed June 24, 1999) | Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%; Total Population: 24,792,375 (July 1998 est.) |
| Islam | Afghanistan | - | 99.30% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: 1998); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | 99.3% Muslim; .6% Hindu; .1% all other (Christian, tribal, etc). Population: 15,551,358 (1979 Census) |
| Islam | Afghanistan | - | 100.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site (1998): "Wholesome Words: Worldwide Missions " by Stephen Ross, "First Edition, 1998 "; [original sources: The World Book Encyclopedia, c1998.] | Table: "Major Muslim Countries of the World " |
| Islam | Afghanistan | 36,406,840 | 99.30% | - | - | 2000 | K. F. Bin Mohd Noor. "Muslims Statistics... for Year 2000 " [orig. src: Barrett. World Christian Encyclopedia, 1982] | Table |
| Ismaili | Afghanistan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 16-17. | "Afghanistan is one of the most solidly Muslim countries in the world... About 10-20% of Afghanis are Shi'ah Muslims, of both the Imami and Ismaili sects. " |
| Judaism | Afghanistan | 32,000 | - | - | - | 1959 | Gilbert, Martin (ed.) The Illustrated Atlas of Jewish Civilization: 4,000 Years of Jewish History. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. (1990), pg. 209. | "The Jewish community in Afghanistan numbered 32,000 before the 1960s, lving mainly in Kabul, Heart, and Balkh. " |
| Nuristani | Afghanistan | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Afghanistan ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1989), pg. 43. | "A small number of Nuristani [an ethnic group], who are mostly farmers and herders, reside in eastern Afghanistan. The Nuristani were among the first Afghans to resist the changes instituted by the Khalq regine in the late 1970s. " |
| other | Afghanistan | 230,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table; "other " = Not Sunni or Shiite |
| other | Afghanistan | 247,924 | 1.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed June 24, 1999) | Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%; Total Population: 24,792,375 (July 1998 est.) |
| Pashtun | Afghanistan | 5,800,000 | 40.00% | - | - | 1989 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Afghanistan ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1989), pg. 40-41. | "About 14.5 million people live in Afghanistan... Pathans [an alternative name for Pashtun] make up about 40% of the population and are divided into many groups. " |
| Qadiriya | Afghanistan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 16-17. | "Afghanistan is one of the most solidly Muslim countries in the world... There are also sufis (or dervishes), members of the mystical branch of Islam. Afghani Sufis generally belong to the Qadiri order or 'path,' the most ancient and widespread of sufi paths. " |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | - | 25.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | 4,340,000 | 20.00% | - | - | 1993 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 15. | "Location: Afghanistan; Population: 21.7 million (1993 estimate); Religion: Islam (Sunni, 80-90%; Shi'ah, 10-20%) " |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | 4,000,000 | 20.00% | - | - | 1994 | Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn. Islamic Society in Practice; Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida (1994), pg. 21. | Map: "Shi'ite population in the Middle East. Copyright by Diederik Vanderwalle. " |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | 2,000,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | Halm, Heinz. Shi'a Islam: From Religion to Revolution. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers (1997). Translated from German by Allison Brown. (German version pub. 1994 in Munich by Verlag C.H. Beck). Page ix. | "The Mongolian Hezara in the central mountains of Afghanistan are Shi'i Muslims (approx. 2 million)... " |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | 3,400,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | 3,560,713 | 15.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%; Total Population: 23,738,085 (July 1997 est.) |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | 1,920,000 | 12.00% | - | - | 1997 | Russell, Malcom B. The Middle East and South Asia 1997 (The World Today Series). Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications (1997), pg. 34. | Estimates of % of population in principal religions, & est. 1997 total pop. |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | 3,718,856 | 15.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook 1998 (viewed June 24, 1999) | Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%; Total Population: 24,792,375 (July 1998 est.) |
| Shiite | Afghanistan | - | 20.00% | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 16-17. | "Afghanistan is one of the most solidly Muslim countries in the world. The overwhelming majority follow the mainstream branch of Islam, the Sunni tradition. About 10-20% of Afghanis are Shi'ah Muslims, of both the Imami and Ismaili sects. " |
| Sikhism | Afghanistan | - | - | 10 units |
- | 1993 | O'Brien, J. & M. Palmer. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993). Pg 30-31. | Map: Number of Sikh gurdwaras ( "a gurdwara is both a place of worship and community centre ") |
| Sunni | Afghanistan | - | 74.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Sunni | Afghanistan | 19,530,000 | 90.00% | - | - | 1993 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 15. | "Location: Afghanistan; Population: 21.7 million (1993 estimate); Religion: Islam (Sunni, 80-90%; Shi'ah, 10-20%) " |
| Sunni | Afghanistan | 19,040,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Sunni | Afghanistan | 19,939,992 | 84.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%; Total Population: 23,738,085 (July 1997 est.) |
| Sunni | Afghanistan | 13,920,000 | 87.00% | - | - | 1997 | Russell, Malcom B. The Middle East and South Asia 1997 (The World Today Series). Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications (1997), pg. 34. | Estimates of % of population in principal religions, & est. 1997 total pop. |
| Sunni | Afghanistan | 20,825,596 | 84.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook 1998 (viewed June 24, 1999) | Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%; Total Population: 24,792,375 (July 1998 est.) |
| Tajik | Afghanistan | 3,625,000 | 25.00% | - | - | 1989 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Afghanistan ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1989), pg. 40, 42. | "About 14.5 million people live in Afghanistan... "; Pg. 42: "Tajiks, Afghanistan's second largest ethnic group, make up 25% of the population and generally live in the northeast. Many also reside in the west near the city of Heart and in the northwest. They all speak dialects of Dari, an Indo-European langage related to Farsi, which is spoken in Iran. " |
| Turkomans | Afghanistan | 1,450,000 | 10.00% | - | - | 1989 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Afghanistan ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1989), pg. 40, 42. | "About 14.5 million people live in Afghanistan... "; Pg. 42: "Turkomans and Uzbek [ethnic groups]--whose territories Afghanistan and the Soviet Union share--live in the north. The Turkic language they speak is not related to the Indo-European family, and these groups represent less than 10% of Afghanistan's population. Most of these Turkic-speakers are farmers, although some have moved to urban centers, where they can find better schools and higher-paying jobs. " |
| Twelvers | Afghanistan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 16-17. | "Afghanistan is one of the most solidly Muslim countries in the world... About 10-20% of Afghanis are Shi'ah Muslims, of both the Imami and Ismaili sects. " |
| Abelites | Africa | - | - | - | - | 350 C.E. | Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996), pg. 384. | "Abelites: A 4th-century African sect mentioned by Augustine. Members married but did not have sex (something they claimed was true of Abel), believing that procreation led only to the perpetuation of sin. Not surprisingly, they are extinct. " |
| Africa Evangelical Fellowship | Africa | - | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* "Merger - On Vision, One Mission " in SIM NOW, Feb. 1999 (vol. #85); (viewed online 6 July 1999); SIM International web site. | "On October 1, 1998, SIM entered into a historic merger with Africa Evangelical Fellowship (AEF), the third major merger in SIM's 105-year history. But maybe merger isn't the best word to describe these three transactions. Perhaps 'marriage' would be a better choice, because in each case, the two truly became one. " |
| Africa Evangelical Fellowship | Africa | - | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "Christian Missions "; web page: "SIM History " (viewed 6 July 1999). | "The most recent addition occurred in 1998 when AEF (Africa Evangelical Fellowship) merged with SIM. AEF officially began its work in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1889 as the South Africa General Mission under the leadership of Andrew Murray, Mrs. Osborne, Spencer Walton, and George Howe. Starting from urban South Africa, missionary efforts spread into many of the other countries and people groups of southern Africa. " |
| African indigenous churches | Africa | - | - | - | - | 1984 | Mbiti, John S. Introduction to African Religion (Second Edition), Heinemann Educational Books: Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1991), pg. 183. | "African Independent (or Indigenous) Churches... first appeared in 1819, but.. proliferated to the extent that, in 1984 there were some 7,000 such churches, groups & religious organizations. " Vary from few thousand members to several million members. |
| African indigenous churches | Africa | 32,000,000 | - | - | - | 1986 | *LINK* web site: "University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg "; web page: "The African Initiated Churches - Affirming the Identity, Channelling the Power " (Viewed 2 Feb. 1999); Author: Godfrey Ngumi. [Orig. source: Mbiti, S. J. Bible Theology in African Christianity, Nairobi: Oxford University Press (1986).] | "In spite of the fact that African Initiated Churches command a following of over 32 million members [Mbiti: 1986], their history, structure, and impact on Christian theology is still underscored. " |
| African indigenous churches | Africa | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), pg. 245. | "There are now over 5,000 independent Christian denominations, all born in the twentieth century, and all bearing the familiar marks of pentecostal spirituality, plus many distinctive qualities of their own. " |
| African indigenous churches | Africa | - | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "AFRICAN INDEPENDENT CHURCH: since the late nineteenth century thousands of NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS have developed in Africa all of which claim to be CHRISTIAN yet they reject traditional MISSIONARY Churches and attempt to incorporate many TRADITIONAL African BELIEFS and practices into their WORSHIP and THEOLOGY. Most of these Churches are thoroughly Christian although some are clearly closer to AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS than to CHRISTIANITY. " |
| African indigenous churches | Africa | - | - | 8,000 units |
- | 1999 | Shillinger, Kurt (Globe Correspondent). "Africans embrace Christian faith, with native touch " in Boston Globe (page A01, 01/03/99). [Posted to Nurel-l newslist by Frank Kaufmann]; Dateline: Harare, Zimbabwe. | "Between 5,000 and 8,000 indigenous African churches are spread across sub-Saharan Africa. All were started this century. Six of those congregations worship in a small field here [dateline = HARARE, Zimbabwe], each under its own tree, as often as three times a week. " |
| African indigenous churches | Africa | - | - | - | - | 2000 | Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), pg. 246. | "In addition to the several thousand denominations, ranging in size from a few thousand to millions of members, there are also innumerable unaffiliated congregations. At present rates of growth, by the year 2000 these churches will include more members in Africa than either the Roman Catholic Church or all the Protestant denominations put together. " |
| African Orthodox Church | Africa | - | - | 3 units |
- | 1991 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991), pg. 109-110. | "African Orthodox Church... the denomination remains small in the U.S., but it has affiliated parishes in the West Indies and Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda). " |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | 63,000,000 | 58.00% | - | - | 1900 | Mbiti, John S. Introduction to African Religion (Second Edition), Heinemann Educational Books: Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1991), pg. 33. | statistics cited |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | 120,000,000 | - | - | - | 1971 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 11. | "It has been estimated that in 1971 there were in Africa about 75 million Christians, 140 million Muslims, and 120 million adherents of traditional religions. " |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 5. | "African Traditional Religion. Those sub-Saharan African religions which do not clearly belong to the major world religions may be termed traditional religions. They are diffused throughout their societies, and their personnel, cults, and values are hard to separate from general social institutions. Consequently there is hardly any distinction between sacred and profane dimensions of life. " |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | 224,000,000 | 50.00% | - | - | 1983 | Hopfe, Lews M. Religions of the World, Macmillan Publishing Co.: New York (1983) [3rd edition], pg. 58-59. | "Today approximately one-half of the African population is estimated to adhere to non-native religions... of a total population of 448 million... " |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | 63,000,000 | 12.00% | - | - | 1984 | Mbiti, John S. Introduction to African Religion (Second Edition), Heinemann Educational Books: Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1991), pg. 34. | "63 million (pure) followers of African Religion... It should be remembered that the majority of those counted as Christians, and many Muslims, still stuck to some of their African religious ideas and practices. " many millions follow more than 1 religion |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | - | 40.00% | - | - | 1984 | Shorter, Aylward. "African Religions " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st published in 1984], pg. 436. | "It has been estimated that between 30 & 40 % of the population of contemporary Africa still practise traditional African religion. If Christians and Muslims who still.. occasionally [practice] are included, percentage might reach 70% " |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | - | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS: the RELIGIONS of African peoples have developed within various African CULTURES without being influenced by major world religions such as CHRISTIANITY, HINDUISM or ISLAM... The main religious divisions in Africa follow geographic lines and are North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and South Africa. In many ways East and Southern African Traditional Religions, which lack professional Priests, share common elements which make them quite distinct from West and North African religions, where professional Priests play an important role in traditional religious practices. " |
| African Traditional Religion | Africa | 72,400,000 | 8.90% | - | - | 2000 | Mbiti, John S. Introduction to African Religion (Second Edition), Heinemann Educational Books: Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1991), pg. 34. | "63 million (pure) followers of African Religion... It should be remembered that the majority of those counted as Christians, and many Muslims, still stuck to some of their African religious ideas and practices. " many millions follow more than 1 religion |
| Aka | Africa | 30,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 1 - Africa. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 11. | "Aka: Alternate Names: Pygmies; tropical forest foragers; Biaka; Bayaka; Bambenzele; Location: Tropical forests of southern Central African Republic and northern Congo; Population: 30,000; Language: Diaka; Religion: Indigenous beliefs. " |
| All Africa Conference of Churches | Africa | - | - | - | 33 countries |
1976 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 177. | "In 1976... the All Africa Conference of Churches, comprising 114 member churches from 33 African countries, met in Alexandria and issued a contemporary African Confession of Faith... symbolic of the growing maturity and self-reliance of the churches founded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by missionaries from abroad. " |
| Anglican | Africa | 25,362,000 | 3.48% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Anglican | Africa | 27,200,000 | 3.64% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Anglican | Africa | 20,551,000 | 2.64% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Arya Samaj | Africa | - | - | 6 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* official organization web site; web page: "Global Directory: Directory of Arya Samaj in Africa " (viewed 24 Jan. 1999) | counted listings in directory |
| Atheism | Africa | 300,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* web site: New Religious Movements (University of Virginia) (viewed 1998) [Orig. source: 1994 World Almanac] | |
| Atheism | Africa | 427,000 | 0.06% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; "Atheists: Persons professing atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion, including antireligious (opposed to all religion). " (Sep. figures for "Nonreligious ") |
| Atheism | Africa | 440,000 | 0.06% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; "Atheists: Persons professing atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion, including antireligious (opposed to all religion). " (Sep. figures for "Nonreligious ") |
| Atheism | Africa | 316,000 | 0.05% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Humanism " (viewed 2 March 1999); Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357. | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage "; "Secular Humanists are sometimes hard to classify, and perhaps even more difficult to obtain demographic data about. The following distribution lists two groups: Nonreligious and Atheists. Nonreligious are defined as persons professing no religion, nonbelievers, agnostics, freethinkers, and dereligionized secularists indifferent to all religion. Atheists are defined as persons professing atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion, including antireligious (opposed to all religion). " |
| Atheism | Africa | 420,000 | 0.05% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "Atheists. Persons professing atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion, including antireligious (opposed to all religion). " |
| Azande | Africa | 1,000,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 1 - Africa. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 32-33. | "Azande: Location: from upper Nile basin in the southern Sudan to the borders of semitropical rain forests in Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo); Population: 1 million; Religion: beliefs revolve around ideas associated with mangu (witchcraft) "; Pg. 33: "During the period of British colonial rule in this part of Africa, policy dictated that formal education was to be provided by practitioners of various Christian faiths. Thus, becoming Christian was often a consequence of becoming literate. At the present time some Azande profess faith in Islamic principles and others profess Christianity, but beliefs about causation, death, and misfortune still revolve around mangu. " |
| Bahai Faith | Africa | 236,987 | - | - | - | 1973 | MacEoin, Denis. "Baha'ism " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st published in 1984], pg. 492. [Orig. source: Hampson, A. "The Growth and Spread of the Baha'i Faith "] | "Table 13.1: Statistics on Baha'ism "; "Estimated number of adherents (1973) " |
| Bahai Faith | Africa | - | - | 4,828 units |
- | 1994 | The Baha'is. Leicestershire, United Kingdom: Baha'i Publishing Trust of the U.K. (1994; 1st ed. 1992), pg. 7. | Table: Statistics of the Baha'i world community "; Figures taken from column: "Local Spiritual Assemblies "; Five locations listed: Africa, Americas, Australiasia [Oceania], Asia, Europe |
| Bahai Faith | Africa | 1,851,000 | 0.25% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Bahai Faith | Africa | 1,923,000 | 0.26% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |