Christianity began in the Middle East around 30 CE, in what is now Israel and Palestine. Two thousand years later, 2.5 billion Christians are living on every continent.
Africa has 754 million Christians. Europe has 552 million, and North America has 272 million. If you add up the numbers, Africa has more Christians than Europe and North America combined.
In 1900, Africa had maybe 10 million Christians. Now, just 120 years later, the number has grown about 75 times!
South America comes in second globally with 620 million. Brazil alone has 185 million Catholics. That’s more Catholics than any other country in the world.
Asia has 417 million despite being home to more than half the world’s population. The Philippines holds 93 million of Asia’s Christians, basically a quarter of the continent’s total. Three centuries of Spanish rule left their mark.
Continent
Christian Population (millions)
Top 3 Countries
Africa
754.2
Nigeria (107M), Ethiopia (73M), Democratic Republic of Congo (63M)
South America
620.0
Brazil (185M), Colombia (48M), Argentina (39M)
Europe
552.0
Russia (105M), Germany (58M), Italy (55M)
Asia
416.8
Philippines (93M), China (70M), India (31M)
North America
271.7
United States (253M), Mexico (124M), Canada (24M)
Australia & Oceania
30.4
Australia (17M), Papua New Guinea (10M), New Zealand (2M)
Russia is home to 105 million of Europe’s Christians. Without Russia, the number of Christians in Europe would be much lower. In many Western European countries, especially among people under 40, church attendance has become less common.
The religion started with a handful of people in Jerusalem. Now there are churches on Arctic ice and underground house churches in places where it’s illegal to practice.
