The Ghanaian Minaret

Washington: Findings of the latest study conducted by the Pew Research Centre have revealed that the number of religiously unaffiliated persons in the world has reached 1.9 billion, making them the third largest religious group, behind Christians and Muslims.

This group, also known as the “nones”, includes people who, in surveys and censuses, answer a religious identity question by saying they do not have any religion or that they are atheist or agnostic.

A report on the study released on June 9, 2025, indicated that religiously unaffiliated people who made up 23.3 per cent of the world’s population in 2010 account for 24.2 per cent of the world population in 2020 due to a 270 million increase in followers.

It revealed that globally, the number of people who say they have no religious affiliation grew by 17 per cent, from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 1.9 billion in 2020, outpacing the 11 per cent increase among the religiously affiliated.

The growth was mainly attributed to mainly Christians “switching” out of religion.

“Religious ‘switching’ – especially people shedding their religious identity after having been raised as Christians – explains much of the unaffiliated population’s growth between 2010 and 2020.

“This pattern is common in European and North American countries, as well as in Australia and New Zealand,” the report highlighted.

The report also indicated that between 2010 and 2020, the number of religiously unaffiliated people grew in every region and faster than the religiously affiliated, except for the regions of Asia Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa.

“The number of people who claim no religious affiliation grew to 1.5 billion in the Asia-Pacific region and to 29 million in sub-Saharan Africa, up about 10% in both regions, slightly lagging behind the religiously affiliated population in these areas,” it highlighted.

The report also noted that as of 2020, most people with no religious affiliation live in the Asia Pacific region, mostly in China.