Ten Most Devout Countries in the World: Where Does Indonesia Rank?

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — A study by Pew Research Center found that Indonesia is the world’s most devout nation in terms of daily prayer. About 95% of Indonesians pray every day, a figure equivalent to about 269.3 million people, making Indonesia not only the most devout by share but also topping the global total in daily worshipers.

Pew Research Center collected data from 102 countries between 2008 and 2023. The study found that the most religious countries tend to be in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East/North Africa region, while the least religious tend to be in Europe and East Asia.

Another finding is that although only a few East Asian countries consider religion very important in their lives, many people in the region hold religious or spiritual beliefs, for example many East Asian residents practise ancestral rituals.

Here are the top 10 countries by the share of residents who pray daily:

• Indonesia 95% (percentage of people who pray daily)

• Nigeria

• Senegal

• Iraq

• Niger

• Chad

• Cameroon

• Djibouti

• Guatemala

• Guinea-Bissau

This phenomenon suggests higher spirituality in developing nations. Conversely, Western countries that are more secular show much lower rates of daily worship. For instance, although the United States is known as a religious country, only 44% of its population prays daily—far below Indonesia, Kenya, or even Bangladesh. India stands out in the report: while only 71% of its population prays daily, the absolute number is very large, at more than a billion people, the highest in the world.