Growth of religion

The world's population is expected to reach nearly 7.6 billion by the beginning of 2018, the German Foundation for the World Population said. In the last year the world population has increased by 83 million, BNR reported.

The Muslim population in some European countries could triple by 2050 while it will barely change in others, according to new projections released by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre, cited by The Guardian.

More babies were born to Christian mothers than to members of any other religion in recent years, reflecting Christianity’s continued status as the world’s largest religious group.

Mosque in Belgrade - Photo: BETA

Over the next two decades, the number of babies born to Muslim mothers will surpass the number of babies born to Christian ones, according estimates from the Pew Research Center.

Pew also found "visible" signs that Islam is the fastest growing religion, according to the report released on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump’s recent executive order temporarily freezing immigration from seven predominantly Islamic countries would affect only about 12% of the world’s Muslims, according to estimates from a 2015 Pew Research Center report on the current and projected size of religious groups.

Earlier this month the Pew Research Centre released data from its Global Religious Futures project, which forecasts the changing size of eight major religions over the next half century. The study is based on demographic factors in 198 countries including fertility, age and life expectancy.