Yunping Tong

In Japan, the number of deaths each year is around twice the number of births Line chart of annual births and deaths in Japan from 1950 to 2023. Births fall from about 2.4 million in 1950, with a peak near the early 1970s around 2.1 million, then decline steadily to about 750,000 births in 2023. Deaths start near 900,000 in 1950, remain below births through the late 20th century, then rise steadily from the 1990s and cross above births around 2008 to 2010, reaching 1.52 million deaths in 2023. Y-axis labeled in increments from 0 up to 2.5 million. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024). Licensed CC BY.

In Japan, there are approximately two deaths for every birth—

Forty years ago in Japan, two babies were born for every person who died. Twenty years ago, these numbers were equal. And today, the ratio has reversed: one baby is born for every two people who die.

Myanmar, also called Burma (30), Bangladesh (29) and Sri Lanka (25) are among the countries with the most national public holidays in 2026. Myanmar and Sri Lanka are predominantly Buddhist, with many holidays that are tied to lunar calendars. Myanmar’s holiday schedule includes multiple days off for Lunar New Year and Buddhist New Year (Thingyan), as well as certain full moon days commemorating events in the life of Buddha. In Sri Lanka, all full moon days are public holidays, known there as Poya days. Bangladesh’s population is mostly Muslim, with a large Hindu minority and smaller shares of Buddhists and Christians. Its public holiday calendar includes certain observances from all four religions: several days off for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, a public holiday for Janmashtami (celebrating the birth of Krishna), one for Vesak (sometimes called Buddha Day or Buddha Purnima) and one for Christmas. This year, Bangladeshis will also get two public holidays for their national elections

NEW: Number of national public, nonworking holidays in 2026
30 Myanmar
29 Bangladesh
25 Sri Lanka
11 US
5 Uruguay
4 Bosnia & Herzegovina
1 Switzerland (each Swiss canton has more)
Learn more: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/02/12/which-countries-have-the-most-and-fewest-public-holidays/

🔎Explore the full report for more
pewrsr.ch/3M0bCUX

👇Use this table to find out your country’s ranking in religious diversity:
www.pewresearch.org/2026/02/12/s...

Some countries are evenly split between two religious groups.
🇪🇷Eritrea has a near-even divide between Muslims and Christians.

🇾🇪Yemen is the least religiously diverse country, and 8 of the 10 least diverse places have large Muslim majorities.

🇺🇸The United States is not in the top 10 list. But among the 10 most populous countries, it ranks 1st in religious diversity.

🇸🇷Suriname ranks 2nd, and 🇫🇷France is the only European country in the top 10 list.

📊How religiously diverse is your country?

🇸🇬Singapore is the most religiously diverse country in the world, according to a new Pew Research Center study on religious diversity in 201 countries and territories.

This study measures how evenly a country’s population is distributed among seven groups.

What is the most common religious affiliation in each country? Choropleth world map showing the most common religion reported by people in each country. Key pattern: Christians are the dominant group across the Americas, much of Europe, large parts of sub‑Saharan Africa, Australia and many Pacific nations. Muslims are most common across North Africa, the Middle East and many countries in West, Central and parts of South Asia. Hindus are most common in India (and Nepal). Buddhists are most common in several East and Southeast Asian countries. The religiously unaffiliated are the largest group in China and some other East Asian countries. Jews are the largest group only in Israel. A small number of countries are categorized as Other. Data source: Pew Research Centre (2025). Data refer to the year 2020. Note: Based on how people describe their own religious identity, regardless of their practices or beliefs.

What is the most common religious affiliation in each country?

Three-quarters of people worldwide say they are religious. But rates of religious identity can vary a lot across countries, and so do the particular religions people follow.

Catholicism Has Declined in Latin America Over the Past Decade Growing numbers of Latin Americans are religiously unaffiliated, but belief in God remains high across the region.

NEW @pewresearch.org report I led with my team on religion in Latin America! The study focuses on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, a group of countries that together make up roughly 75% of the region’s population.

pewrsr.ch/3NofOy9

A few key takeaways in the:thread:below:

1/

To encourage reuse of our data, Pew Research Center, with support from the John Templeton Foundation, invites researchers to submit proposals for new research publications that use one or more of the following datasets (collectively, Datasets) from the Global Religious Futures (GRF) project: Global Restrictions on Religion 2007-2022 dataset. This cumulative dataset includes measures of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion in nearly 200 countries and territories. Spring 2024 Survey. This dataset includes measures of religion and spirituality in 35 countries. (Comparable data was also collected in 2023 and 2024 for the United States. The downloadable materials which accompany the international dataset include additional information about U.S. data.) Dataset of Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020. This dataset includes estimates of the size of seven major religious groups in more than 200 countries and territories. We encourag

Please share: Pew Research Center will provide $3,000 each for 19 new papers using our recent global datasets. We encourage reuse of our Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures data!
https://www.pewresearch.org/2026/01/16/seeking-research-using-recent-pew-templeton-global-religious-futures-datasets/

Minneapolis

Good morning Minneapolis! The #SSSR_RRA2025 Annual Meeting begins today with a full weekend of plenary sessions, receptions, networking events and papers exploring this year’s theme “Religion Matters.”

Full program. ⬇️ #Research #SocialScience #Religion
sssreligion.org/annual-meeti...

Growing Share of U.S. Adults Say Religion Is Gaining Influence in American Life Americans' views of religion's role in society have grown more positive in recent years. But many feel their religious beliefs conflict with the mainstream.

Americans’ views about religion in public life are shifting:

- Growing shares say religion is gaining influence.
- Growing shares have a positive view of religion's role in society.
- Growing shares feel conflict btw their religious beliefs and the mainstream.

New Pew report: pewrsr.ch/3J3oE2s

SECULAR TRANSITION:
The graphic below shows the Participation-Importance-Belonging sequence of religious decline emerging between younger & older generations in @pewresearch.org surveys.

Adapted from our “Three Stages of Religious Decline Around the World” article🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

- Most of the switching involves disaffiliation -- people leaving the religion of their childhood and no longer identifying with any religion.

- Hindus and Muslims rarely switch out of their religious groups, with 99% of adults (ages 18-54) still identifying with their childhood religion.
- Retention rates are lower among Christians (83%) and Buddhists (78%).

How common is religious switching around the world? A new Pew Research Center post provides insights based on surveys conducted in 117 countries and territories.
Some key findings:
- Globally, 1 in 10 adults under 55 have switched religions since childhood.
More here: pewrsr.ch/46dKGbF