According to a global survey carried out by Pew Research Center, the places that are most religious tend to be in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Middle East-North Africa, while the least religious tend to be in Europe and East Asia.

Researches conducted the surveys for a decade and a half, between 2008 and 2023, within 102 countries. They made two questions: “How important is religion in your life?” and “How often do you pray?”.

The importance of religion

The survey points out that at least 90% of adults say that religion is very important in their lives in Senegal, Mali, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda and Zambia.

On the contrary, “people in nearly all European countries surveyed are among the least likely to say that religion is very important in their lives”.

In Estonia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Latvia and Finland, just 10% or fewer adults say religion is a priority for them.

In South and Southeast Asia, “the pattern is not as consistent as in sub-Saharan Africa and Europe”, states Pew Research.

Almost all adults (98%) in places like Indonesia, for example, are among the most likely worldwide to place a great deal of importance on religion, while “far smaller shares in Singapore (36%) and Vietnam (26%) give that answer”.

In the United States, the percentage of people saying that religion is very important in their lives, is below the average of the 102 places (42% vs 55%).

Prayer around the world

Adults in Latin America are among the most likely in the world to say they pray daily, socially in Guatemala and Paraguay (82%), followed by Costa Rica and Honduras (78%).

In Europe, only Turkey (60%) is above the average, and in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria, less than 10% of adults pray daily.

Moreover, in no surveyed place in East Asia do more than 21% of adults report they pray daily.

The survey also shows that around 45% of US Americans say they pray daily, which is “nearly identical to the 102-place median of 46%”.