The world in 2026
The Christian share of humanity has stayed close to one third for over a century — which means the church has grown roughly as fast as the world's population, from about 558 million people to about 2.6 billion. What has changed completely is where those Christians live.
Rounded estimates of religious identification, not active practice. "Non-religious" combines agnostics and atheists. Shares do not total exactly because of rounding.
Source: Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Status of Global Christianity 2026; Pew Research Center
The long arc: 1900 to 2050
In 1900 about 558 million people were Christians and more than four in five of them lived in Europe and North America. Today the count is around 2.6 billion, and more than two in three live in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The projection for 2050 is 3.3 billion, with the Global South share approaching four in five.
Bars show the share of the world's Christians living in the Global South — Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.
Source: Center for the Study of Global Christianity (Gordon-Conwell), World Christian Database; Todd Johnson and Gina Zurlo, World Christian Encyclopedia
Where Christians live
Sub-Saharan Africa alone now holds more Christians than Europe and North America combined, and it is growing fastest. Asia-Pacific holds the fewest Christians as a share of its people — about eight in a hundred — which is another way of saying that most of the remaining task is there.
Bar length is the Christian share of each region's population; the figure is the number of Christians.
Each region has its own profile — Christianity by region — with the nations this site covers there.
Source: Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape; Center for the Study of Global Christianity. Region definitions follow Pew; figures are rounded.
Scripture access
Bible translation is one of the clearest measurable victories of the last century: from a few hundred languages with any Scripture in 1900 to more than 3,700 today, with active work in over 3,500. The remaining task is now countable — under a thousand languages, spoken by roughly one in eighty people alive — and the global Bible agencies are working toward starting translation in every one of them.
- Living languages: ~7,400 — spoken by roughly 8 billion people
- Full Bible: 756 languages — about 6 billion people have the whole Bible in a language they speak
- New Testament only: 1,726 languages — a further ~880 million people
- Some Scripture: 1,274 languages — portions or selections only
- Any Scripture at all: 3,756 languages — up from a few hundred in 1900
- Translation under way: 3,500+ languages — active work, including languages that already have some Scripture
- Nothing, and no work begun: 985 languages — roughly 100 million people
Source: Wycliffe Global Alliance, Scripture Access Statistics (2024 edition, published October 2024) — the latest figures this site has verified
The unfinished task
"Unreached" is a statement about access, not about worth. It means there is no indigenous community of believers large enough to reach the rest of a people without outside help. Most of the unreached live in the 10/40 Window — North Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia — and India alone contains more unreached peoples than any other nation.
- People without meaningful Gospel access: 2.3 billion
- Distinct people groups: 10,423
- Unreached people groups: 4,490 — about 43% of all groups
- Frontier people groups: 3,214 — fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus
- People in frontier groups: 1.9 billion
Source: Joshua Project, 2026; Center for the Study of Global Christianity
The cost
Growth and cost sit side by side. Nigeria has one of the largest churches on earth and the highest number of Christians killed for their faith. Iran has one of the fastest-growing churches anywhere and no legal way to gather. The Christians paying the most are very often the ones the numbers above are counting.
- Christians facing high levels of persecution and discrimination: 380 million — about 1 in 7 worldwide; 1 in 5 in Africa; 2 in 5 in Asia
- Killed for faith-related reasons: 4,476 — the majority in Nigeria
- Churches and Christian buildings attacked: 7,679
- Christians forcibly displaced: ~210,000
The ten hardest countries in which to follow Jesus: 1. North Korea · 2. Somalia · 3. Yemen · 4. Libya · 5. Sudan · 6. Eritrea · 7. Nigeria · 8. Pakistan · 9. Iran · 10. Afghanistan
Source: Open Doors, World Watch List 2025 (reporting period October 2023 to September 2024) — the latest edition this site has verified
Who is going
The mission force no longer flows in one direction. Brazil, South Korea, Nigeria and the Philippines now send workers into places Western missionaries cannot easily enter — and Filipino nurses, Brazilian engineers and Nigerian traders carry the Gospel on ordinary work visas.
- Cross-cultural missionaries: ~450,000 — sent across a cultural or national boundary
- Largest sending nations: United States, Brazil, South Korea, Philippines, Nigeria — by total workers sent; several of these were themselves mission fields a century ago
Source: Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Status of Global Christianity 2026
How to respond
A report that changes nothing is a spreadsheet. Take one of these, not all of them.
- Pick one nation from the atlas and pray for it by name for a week — not five nations for a day.
- Learn the definitions. "Unreached" and "frontier" are precise terms; using them well is part of loving the people they describe.
- Support Bible translation. Under a thousand languages remain with no Scripture and no work begun, and that number is falling every year.
- Find the unreached where you live. People from the least-reached nations now live in Western cities where the Gospel is completely free.
- Join or start a weekly outreach group on the shared network map — the movement's own scoreboard is on the homepage.
- Give with the whole picture in mind: the fastest-growing churches on earth are usually the poorest and the most pressured.
Questions people ask
Is Christianity growing or declining in 2026?
Both, depending on where you look. Globally Christianity is growing in absolute numbers — from about 558 million people in 1900 to about 2.6 billion today — and has held a share of roughly one third of humanity for over a century. It is growing fastest in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, and declining as a share of the population in Europe and North America. About 69% of the world's Christians now live in the Global South, up from 17.6% in 1900.
How many Christians are there in the world?
About 2.6 billion people identify as Christian in 2026, roughly 32% of a world population of about 8.3 billion, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. Identification is higher than active practice, and estimates vary by source and definition.
Where is Christianity growing fastest?
Sub-Saharan Africa, which now holds roughly 718 million Christians — more than Europe and North America combined — and has gone from about 9 million Christians in 1900 to around 700 million today. Significant growth is also documented in parts of Asia, including China, Iran and Nepal, often under restriction.
How many people still have no access to the Gospel?
About 2.3 billion people have no meaningful access — no church nearby, no Scripture in their language, no believing friend. Joshua Project counts 4,490 unreached people groups out of 10,423, of which 3,214 are frontier groups where fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus. Most live in the 10/40 Window.
How many languages still have no Bible?
According to Wycliffe Global Alliance's 2024 statistics, 3,756 of roughly 7,400 living languages have at least some Scripture, 756 have the full Bible, and translation work is active in more than 3,500 languages. 985 languages, spoken by roughly 100 million people, have no Scripture and no translation work begun.
How many Christians are persecuted for their faith?
Open Doors' World Watch List 2025 estimates about 380 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination — about one in seven worldwide. In its reporting period 4,476 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons, the majority in Nigeria, and 7,679 churches or Christian buildings were attacked. The ten hardest countries were North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.