A World of Unbelievers

            If you’re an atheist and you want to be around a lot of people who believe the way you do, go to Vietnam. Or Sweden. Here are the countries with the highest proportion of unbelievers in their population.

Nations with the highest percentage of unbelievers[1]

100															100
98															98
96															96
94															94
92															92
90															90
88															88
86															86
84															84
82															82
	Vietnam
80															80
	80%
78															78
76															76
74															74
72															72
70															70
68															68
66															66
64															64
62															62
60															60
58															58
56															56
54															54
52															52
50															50
48															48
		Sweden
46															46
		46%	France
44				Denmark											44
			44%		Netherlands
42				43%		Great Britain									42
					42%
40															40
38						39%									38
36															36
							Bulgaria
34															34
							34%	Hungary			South Korea
32									Germany	Norway					32
								32%
30									31%	31%					30
											30%
28															28
26															26
												Russia
24															24
												24%	New Zealand
22															22
20															20
													20%	Australia
18															18
														18%
16															16
14															14
12															12
10															10
8															8
6															6
4															4
2															2
0															0

            These are very conservative figures, by the way. In recent years, researchers have dug up a variety of poll numbers on religious belief, and the ones on this chart are the lowest. So when the chart says that 46 percent of all Swedish people are nonbelievers, take it to mean that the unreligious account for at least 46 percent of the Swedes -- and probably more.

            And worldwide? The number of atheists is nearly 150 million, up about three million from 2000 to 2009.[2]

            In other words, if you’re an atheist, you’re not alone.

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[1] Andrew Greeley, Religion in Europe at the End of the Second Millennium, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ (2003), cited in “Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns” by Phil Zuckerman; Kim Eungi, “Religion in Contemporary Korea: Change and Continuity,” Korea Focus (July-August 2003), cited in “Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns” ; Nancy Wong and Vivienne Timmins, “Religious Views and Beliefs Vary Greatly by Country, According to the Latest Financial Times/Harris Poll,” Harris Interactive website (December 20, 2006), http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NEWS/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1131; Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide, Cambridge University Press, New York (2004), cited in “Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns” ; Ronald Inglehart, Miguel Basanez, Jaime Diez-Medrano, Loek Halman, and Ruud Luuijkx, Human Beliefs and Values: A Cross-Cultural Sourcebook Based on the 1999-2002 Value Surveys (Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2004), cited in “Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns” by Phil Zuckerman in Cambridge Companion to Atheism, edited by Michael Martin, University of Cambridge Press (2007), www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/zuckerman/Ath-Chap-under-7000.pdf; Ulla Bondeson, Nordic Moral Climates, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ (2003), cited in “Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns”; Uncredited, “Field Listing: Religions,” The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency website, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html?countryCode=ag&rankAnchorRow=#ag; Uncredited, “Population by Religion, Sex and Urban/Rural Residence: Each Census, 1985 - 2004,” Demographic Yearbook, United Nations Statistics Division (June 30, 2006), http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dybcensus/V2_table6.pdf; Uncredited, “What the World Thinks of God,” British Broadcasting Corporation (2004), http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/ hi/programmes/wtwtgod/pdf/wtwtgod.pdf/

[2] Uncredited, “Global Table 5: Statistical Overview of the World’s 2.2 Billion Christians and Their Activities, Encompassing 2 Alternative Parallel but Different Groupings,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 2011, www.swamij.com/pdf/IBMR2009.pdf