PEOPLE • REGIONS • LANGUAGES
Islamic World
More than two billion Muslims live across the world, with the greatest concentrations in Asia and Africa. The global community encompasses major language groups including Arabic, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali and many others.
Population figures are approximate estimates supplied for this overview.
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION
A global community,
centred across two continents.
Asia-Pacific
Approximately 62%The world’s largest Muslim populations are found here: Indonesia at roughly 243 million, Pakistan at 240 million, Bangladesh at 151 million, and India at approximately 200 million.
Middle East & North Africa
Approximately 20%This region contains the greatest concentration of Muslim-majority countries. Major centres include Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Algeria, Iraq and Morocco.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Approximately 15%Muslim populations are growing rapidly across the region. Nigeria accounts for roughly 97 million, with substantial communities in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Niger.
Europe & Central Asia
Approximately 3%This group includes the Central Asian republics, communities across the Balkans and Caucasus, and millions living in Western Europe and Russia.
MAJOR LANGUAGES
Many mother tongues.
One worldwide readership.
Arabic
~300 millionSpoken across North Africa and the Middle East and used throughout Islam as the language of the Qur’an.
Indonesian
200+ millionBahasa Indonesia serves the population of Southeast Asia’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
Urdu
175+ millionA major language of Pakistan and of Muslim communities across parts of India.
Bengali
150+ millionWidely spoken in Bangladesh and in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Other important languages include Turkish, Uzbek and other Turkic languages; Persian, Dari, Pashto and Kurdish; and Somali, Hausa, Swahili, French and Russian.
PRIMARY LANGUAGE GROUPS
Two billion people,
grouped by language family.
| Primary language group | Muslim population | Representative countries and regions |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic and related Afroasiatic languagesIncluding Somali | 423 million | Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Jordan and Libya |
| Urdu and Indo-Aryan languagesPunjabi, Bengali, Sindhi, Hindi and others | 591 million | Pakistan, India and Bangladesh |
| Austronesian languagesIndonesian and Malay | 243 million | Indonesia |
| Niger-Congo languagesHausa, Yoruba, Wolof, Bambara and others | 170 million | Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Senegal |
| Turkic languagesTurkish, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Turkmen | 170 million | Turkey, Uzbekistan and Central Asia |
| Iranic languagesPersian, Farsi, Dari, Pashto and Kurdish | 126 million | Iran and Afghanistan |
| Mixed and regional minoritiesEast African, European, East Asian and American communities | 277 million | Ethiopia, Europe, Russia and the rest of the world |
| Total | 2,000 million (2.0 billion) | Global total |
KEY OBSERVATIONS
The Indo-Aryan language group—including Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi—forms the largest single linguistic block, representing nearly 30% of the global Muslim population.
Arabic ranks second by population but extends across the broadest connected geographical area, from North Africa through the Middle East.