Mapped: The World’s Most (and Least) Religiously Diverse Countries

The World’s Most (and Least) Religiously Diverse Countries

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Religious diversity ranges from highly mixed societies to countries where a single faith dominates almost entirely.

This map by Iswardi Ishak shows the Religious Diversity Index (RDI) across 201 countries, based on data from the Pew Research Center. The index measures how evenly populations are distributed across religions, with higher scores indicating a more balanced mix.

Singapore ranks #1 globally, with no single religious group forming a majority. At the other extreme, countries like Yemen and Afghanistan have near-zero diversity, highlighting how uneven religious distribution can be worldwide.

Ranking: Countries by Religious Diversity

Here’s a look at the full dataset on religious diversity by country:

Rank	Country	RDI score	Diversity level
1	Singapore	9.25	Very high
2	Suriname	7.54	Very high
3	Taiwan	7.46	Very high
4	South Korea	7.33	Very high
5	Mauritius	7.33	Very high
6	Guinea-Bissau	7.17	Very high
7	Togo	7.09	Very high
8	Benin	7.05	Very high
9	Australia	6.99	High
10	France	6.93	High
11	Canada	6.91	High
12	United Kingdom	6.88	High
13	Belgium	6.80	High
14	Ivory Coast	6.76	High
15	Netherlands	6.76	High
16	New Zealand	6.67	High
17	Mongolia	6.64	High
18	Mozambique	6.57	High
19	Cuba	6.48	High
20	Germany	6.40	High
21	Malaysia	6.31	High
22	Sweden	6.30	High
23	Estonia	6.21	High
24	Japan	6.18	High
25	Chad	6.18	High
26	Uruguay	6.14	High
27	Switzerland	6.09	High
28	South Sudan	6.09	High
29	Eritrea	6.01	High
30	Bosnia-Herzegovina	5.98	High
31	Guyana	5.90	High
32	United States	5.85	High
33	Luxembourg	5.81	High
34	Nigeria	5.81	High
35	Macao	5.76	High
36	Tanzania	5.72	High
37	Ethiopia	5.71	High
38	Vietnam	5.62	High
39	Sri Lanka	5.61	High
40	Austria	5.58	High
41	Cyprus	5.57	High
42	Laos	5.49	Moderate
43	Slovenia	5.46	Moderate
44	Jamaica	5.45	Moderate
45	Burkina Faso	5.43	Moderate
46	Trinidad and Tobago	5.41	Moderate
47	Russia	5.41	Moderate
48	North Macedonia	5.38	Moderate
49	Lebanon	5.38	Moderate
50	Fiji	5.31	Moderate
51	Hong Kong	5.23	Moderate
52	Cameroon	5.22	Moderate
53	Spain	5.21	Moderate
54	Ghana	5.21	Moderate
55	Chile	5.15	Moderate
56	Norway	5.11	Moderate
57	United Arab Emirates	5.06	Moderate
58	Bahrain	4.91	Moderate
59	Finland	4.84	Moderate
60	Belize	4.83	Moderate
61	Albania	4.75	Moderate
62	North Korea	4.73	Moderate
63	Hungary	4.71	Moderate
64	Czech Republic	4.67	Moderate
65	Madagascar	4.66	Moderate
66	Iceland	4.65	Moderate
67	Qatar	4.63	Moderate
68	Slovakia	4.57	Moderate
69	Bhutan	4.55	Moderate
70	Israel	4.46	Moderate
71	Denmark	4.42	Moderate
72	Montenegro	4.39	Moderate
73	Latvia	4.34	Moderate
74	Barbados	4.21	Moderate
75	Dominican Republic	4.18	Moderate
76	Kazakhstan	4.14	Moderate
77	Bulgaria	4.05	Moderate
78	India	4.03	Moderate
79	Cape Verde	4.02	Moderate
80	Kuwait	3.94	Moderate
81	Italy	3.88	Moderate
82	Nepal	3.85	Moderate
83	Brazil	3.83	Moderate
84	Aruba	3.75	Moderate
85	Sierra Leone	3.71	Moderate
86	Ireland	3.68	Moderate
87	Oman	3.68	Moderate
88	Brunei	3.68	Moderate
89	Botswana	3.51	Moderate
90	Gabon	3.36	Moderate
91	French Guiana	3.28	Moderate
92	Ukraine	3.28	Moderate
93	Vanuatu	3.26	Moderate
94	Sao Tome and Principe	3.20	Moderate
95	South Africa	3.08	Moderate
96	New Caledonia	3.08	Moderate
97	Nicaragua	3.07	Moderate
98	Liberia	3.01	Moderate
99	Portugal	3.00	Moderate
100	Belarus	2.99	Moderate
101	Channel Islands	2.96	Moderate
102	Kenya	2.96	Moderate
103	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	2.87	Moderate
104	Colombia	2.86	Moderate
105	Indonesia	2.72	Moderate
106	Guinea	2.71	Moderate
107	Reunion	2.68	Moderate
108	Zimbabwe	2.66	Moderate
109	Grenada	2.66	Moderate
110	El Salvador	2.65	Moderate
111	Malawi	2.61	Moderate
112	Costa Rica	2.54	Moderate
113	Uganda	2.53	Moderate
114	Venezuela	2.49	Moderate
115	Georgia	2.47	Moderate
116	Malta	2.46	Moderate
117	Equatorial Guinea	2.44	Moderate
118	Argentina	2.44	Moderate
119	Ecuador	2.43	Moderate
120	Honduras	2.42	Moderate
121	Haiti	2.38	Moderate
122	Myanmar	2.36	Moderate
123	Puerto Rico	2.33	Moderate
124	Bolivia	2.33	Moderate
125	Greece	2.27	Moderate
126	China	2.26	Moderate
127	Mexico	2.26	Moderate
128	Namibia	2.05	Moderate
129	Curacao	2.04	Moderate
130	Central African Republic	2.02	Moderate
131	Croatia	1.98	Low
132	Panama	1.92	Low
133	Bangladesh	1.92	Low
134	Poland	1.88	Low
135	Philippines	1.85	Low
136	Serbia	1.85	Low
137	Kyrgyzstan	1.81	Low
138	St. Lucia	1.80	Low
139	Guatemala	1.76	Low
140	Republic of the Congo	1.71	Low
141	Lithuania	1.70	Low
142	Saudi Arabia	1.61	Low
143	Angola	1.52	Low
144	Eswatini	1.48	Low
145	French Polynesia	1.45	Low
146	Paraguay	1.43	Low
147	Seychelles	1.36	Low
148	Guam	1.34	Low
149	Maldives	1.33	Low
150	Mali	1.31	Low
151	Syria	1.30	Low
152	Kosovo	1.26	Low
153	Turkmenistan	1.26	Low
154	Thailand	1.25	Low
155	U.S. Virgin Islands	1.23	Low
156	Peru	1.22	Low
157	Azerbaijan	1.17	Low
158	Burundi	1.13	Low
159	Solomon Islands	1.11	Low
160	Egypt	1.07	Low
161	Uzbekistan	0.99	Very low
162	Guadeloupe	0.94	Very low
163	Martinique	0.90	Very low
164	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.85	Very low
165	Pakistan	0.79	Very low
166	Gambia	0.68	Very low
167	Rwanda	0.68	Very low
168	Cambodia	0.66	Very low
169	Jordan	0.66	Very low
170	Turkey	0.66	Very low
171	Armenia	0.62	Very low
172	Lesotho	0.61	Very low
173	Senegal	0.56	Very low
174	Kiribati	0.55	Very low
175	Bahamas	0.55	Very low
176	Samoa	0.54	Very low
177	Djibouti	0.53	Very low
178	Tonga	0.51	Very low
179	Niger	0.43	Very low
180	Zambia	0.40	Very low
181	Comoros	0.39	Very low
182	Algeria	0.37	Very low
183	Romania	0.34	Very low
184	Federated States of Micronesia	0.28	Very low
185	Mayotte	0.27	Very low
186	Sudan	0.26	Very low
187	Tajikistan	0.25	Very low
188	Palestinian territories	0.24	Very low
189	Libya	0.23	Very low
190	Papua New Guinea	0.21	Very low
191	Mauritania	0.19	Very low
192	Tunisia	0.16	Very low
193	Iraq	0.12	Very low
194	Moldova	0.11	Very low
195	Timor-Leste	0.11	Very low
196	Western Sahara	0.10	Very low
197	Morocco	0.08	Very low
198	Iran	0.05	Very low
199	Somalia	0.04	Very low
200	Afghanistan	0.03	Very low
201	Yemen	0.03	Very low

Singapore leads the ranking with a score of 9.25, while several countries at the bottom have near-zero diversity, underscoring how wide the global gap is.

Where Religious Diversity Is Highest

Singapore stands apart globally, with no single religion accounting for more than a third of its population. This balance across Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and unaffiliated groups gives it the highest diversity score in the dataset, well ahead of most countries.

Other highly diverse countries include Suriname and Taiwan, where multiple religions coexist relatively evenly. These countries often share histories shaped by migration, trade, or colonial influence, which help sustain a more diverse mix of religious identities.

Where Diversity Is Lowest

At the other end of the spectrum, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have diversity scores close to zero. In places like Yemen and Afghanistan, a single religion accounts for nearly the entire population, leaving little variation in religious identity.

In addition, relatively low immigration levels mean fewer new religious communities are introduced over time. Countries like Yemen and Afghanistan also tend to have more ethnically and culturally homogeneous populations, which historically align with a single dominant faith.

By contrast, highly diverse countries typically combine open migration patterns, legal protections for religious freedom, and urban, trade-driven histories that bring multiple belief systems into close contact.

How Diversity Changed Between 2010 and 2020

Globally, religious diversity is rising, but unevenly. Between 2010 and 2020, more countries moved into moderate and high diversity categories, driven largely by migration and shifting religious affiliation. North America saw some of the fastest increases, with both the U.S. and Canada becoming more religiously mixed.

The number of countries classified as having “very low” diversity fell from 48 to 41, while those in the “moderate” category rose from 81 to 89.

Here are the top 10 countries with the biggest increases in religious diversity from 2010 to 2020:

Country	RDI Score 2010	RDI Score 2020	RDI Score Change
Chile	2.8	5.1	+2.3
Ireland	1.8	3.7	+1.9
Malta	0.7	2.5	+1.8
Austria	3.9	5.6	+1.7
Oman	2.1	3.7	+1.6
Belarus	1.4	3	+1.6
United States	4.2	5.8	+1.6
Brazil	2.3	3.8	+1.5
Ecuador	1	2.4	+1.4
Italy	2.5	3.9	+1.4

North America experienced the most significant shift, with an average RDI increase of 1.40. Both the U.S. and Canada moved further into the “high” diversity category, driven by immigration and changing religious affiliation patterns.

While less pronounced than the increases, a few countries did experience declines in religious diversity. Here are the top 10 decreases:

Country	RDI Score 2010	RDI Score 2020	RDI Score Change
Kazakhstan	5.1	4.1	-1.0
Syria	2.2	1.3	-0.9
Vietnam	6.2	5.6	-0.6
Madagascar	5.3	4.7	-0.6
Fiji	5.8	5.3	-0.5
Ivory Coast	7.3	6.8	-0.5
Bahrain	5.4	4.9	-0.5
Albania	5.3	4.8	-0.5
Mozambique	7.1	6.6	-0.5
Zimbabwe	3.2	2.7	-0.5

Overall, the data shows a gradual shift toward greater religious mixing worldwide, though the divide between highly diverse and highly uniform countries remains stark.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To explore how religions are distributed globally, check out The World’s Three Largest Religions Have a Combined 5 Billion Followers on the Voronoi app.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/worlds-most-and-least-religiously-diverse-countries/