Most theist countries in the world in 2025 

Discover which countries were the most theist in 2025, with survey-based percentages showing how many people say religion is very important in their lives. This article explains the methodology, lists top countries, and highlights regional patterns and what the numbers mean for readers and content creators.

Religion shapes daily life for billions. But how the importance of religion varies from country to country changed a lot over recent years — and new survey work released in 2025 gives us the clearest cross-national snapshot in a long time. Below I summarize the findings, explain how the numbers were collected, and give a ranked list of the most theist countries (with percentages drawn from public Pew Research Center reporting and related coverage).

According to Pew Research Center’s May 6, 2025 report (based on the Spring 2024 Global Attitudes Survey and the Religious Landscape Study), the largest shares saying religion is very important are concentrated in South and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Middle East and Latin America. For example, Pew reported very high rates in Indonesia (about 98%), Bangladesh (97%) and several other nations where religion is central in everyday life.

How these percentages were measured (short methodology)

Most comparative figures quoted here come from the Pew Research Center’s 2025 report “Believing in Spirits and Life After Death Is Common Around the World” and its survey topline, which asked respondents the standard question: “How important is religion in your life?” with answer options including very important, somewhat important, not too important and not at all important. The numbers used below are the share of adults in each country who answered “very important.” (Pew’s release covers 36 countries surveyed in 2023–2024; results are nationally representative for those countries.)

Important note: no single survey covers every country in the world. Pew’s 36-country study gives a high-quality cross-section that includes many large nations, but where Pew did not cover a country researchers sometimes rely on other reputable polls (Gallup, national census data, or comparable surveys). I indicate sources inline below.

Top most-theist countries (selected / survey-based list for 2025)

Source: Pew Research Center, Believing in Spirits and Life After Death Is Common Around the World, Spring 2024 Global Attitudes Survey / Religious Landscape Study (released May 6, 2025). Where noted, I add corroborating coverage (Newsweek, regional press). Percentages = share saying religion is “very important”.

1. Indonesia — 98%
   Nearly all Indonesian adults in the Pew sample said religion is very important in their lives; the country consistently ranks at the top in multi-national religiosity measures.

2. Bangladesh — 97%
   Pew reports that almost everyone surveyed in Bangladesh described religion as very important. Bangladesh shows some of the highest affiliation and importance scores in the dataset.

3. Sri Lanka — (very high; ~90%+)
   Sri Lanka appears near the top of the list in Pew’s measures (women and older adults especially likely to say religion is very important). The survey finds very large majorities there.

4. Kenya — ~92% (Christians in Kenya report very high importance)
   In Pew’s country breakdown Christians in Kenya were among the groups most likely to report religion as personally very important (Pew shows very high figures—Kenyan Christians ~92% in Pew’s reporting).

5. Philippines — ~88%
   Pew reports large majorities of Filipinos saying religion is very important, consistent with longstanding data on the Philippines’ strong church participation.

6. India — (high; many Hindus report religion very important: 82% among Hindus in India)
   Pew’s country-and-religion breakdown shows that a very large share of Hindus in India say religion is very important (Pew: about 82% of Hindus in India report this). Overall national figures are high as well in Pew’s survey.

7. Nigeria — (very high overall; many sub-Saharan African countries report large majorities)
   Nigeria’s religiously affiliated populations also report religion as very important at high rates in global surveys; Pew and other cross-national polls typically place Nigeria among the most religious in Africa.

8. Pakistan — (very high; typically >90% in many surveys)
   Muslim-majority Pakistan consistently reports very large majorities saying religion is very important in life across multiple surveys. (Pew surveyed Pakistan-region populations in related studies and finds very high importance.)

9. Thailand, Turkey, Tunisia, and other South/Southeast Asian or Muslim-majority countries — (typically high 70–96% depending on the question and group)
   Several countries in South/Southeast Asia and the Middle East/North Africa area recorded very high shares saying religion is vital. Exact ranks differ by dataset and whether the question is belief, affiliation, or “very important.”

What the numbers mean — and what they don’t

• “Very important” = personal salience, not identical to practice. The Pew item measures personal importance of religion; it’s not exactly the same as weekly attendance, doctrinal orthodoxy, or whether a country’s laws are theocratic. (Those are different measures.)

• Context matters. In many high-scoring countries, religion overlaps with national identity, family life and civic rituals — so high percentages often reflect religion’s cultural role as well as private belief.

• Coverage limits: Pew’s published 2025 report covers 36 countries. That gives an excellent cross-section, but it does not include every nation (for example, some small states and many Middle Eastern countries are outside the 36). Where Pew didn’t survey a country, other reputable polls (Gallup, national studies) can be used — but be careful comparing across surveys because wording and timing differ.

Regional patterns (quick)

• South & Southeast Asia: Very high importance scores (Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines). Religion is tightly woven into daily life for many people in this region.

• Sub-Saharan Africa: Many countries report very large majorities saying religion is very important (e.g., Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana).

• Europe & East Asia: Much lower shares in many countries (Sweden, France, Japan, South Korea show notably smaller shares saying religion is very important).