Babies born to Muslims to exceed Christian births, study predicts
Palestinians pray at the al-Khaldi mosque in Gaza City during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Story highlights
- Study: Babies born to Muslims will exceed babies born to Christians in 20 years
- World population expected to increase by 32% to 9.6 billion by 2060
(CNN)Within the next 20 years, the number of babies born to Muslim parents is expected to surpass births to Christians -- and all other religions -- according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.
The study confirms previous research predicting that Muslims will be the fastest-growing religious group during the next few decades.
In recent years, more babies have been born to Christians than any other religion. However, between 2010 and 2015, births to Muslims comprised an estimated 31% of all babies born worldwide, far surpassing the current Muslim share of people of all ages in 2015 -- estimated at about 24%.
This is not to say Christianity is becoming less popular. The global Christian population has continued to grow, but at a slower rate. In the last few years, 33% of babies worldwide were born to Christians, while the total Christian share of the world's population was 31% in 2015.
