Discover the most atheist countries in the world in 2025 \u2014 a data-driven list with percentages, explanations of methodology, regional patterns, and what \u201catheist\u201d actually means in surveys. Sources: World Values Survey, WIN-Gallup and major research centers.<\/p>\n
Religion, belief and non-belief are complex and culturally embedded topics \u2014 and in 2025 we continue to see important geographic patterns. Large parts of East Asia, several high-income European countries, and some Pacific and Latin American states report unusually high shares of people who identify as atheist<\/em> or non-religious<\/em>. Below you\u2019ll find a clear, sourced top-20 list (with percentages) and an evidence-based explanation of what the numbers mean and how to use them.<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> the percentages below are taken from the most recent public compilations based primarily on the World Values Survey (WVS, Wave 7, 2017\u20132022) together with older WIN-Gallup items compiled by aggregators. These figures report the share of respondents who self-identified as \u201catheist\u201d<\/strong> (not simply \u201cno religion\u201d), as listed by WorldPopulationReview\u2019s 2025 compilation. See methodology and caveats after the list. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Macau<\/strong> \u2014 59.3%<\/strong> identify as atheists. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n South Korea<\/strong> \u2014 54.9%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Hong Kong<\/strong> \u2014 52.3%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n China<\/strong> \u2014 33.8%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n United Kingdom<\/strong> \u2014 21.7%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Czechia (Czech Republic)<\/strong> \u2014 21.6%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Taiwan<\/strong> \u2014 21.1%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Australia<\/strong> \u2014 20.0%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Canada<\/strong> \u2014 19.4%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Japan<\/strong> \u2014 19.1%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Andorra<\/strong> \u2014 15.2%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Netherlands<\/strong> \u2014 14.0%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n New Zealand<\/strong> \u2014 12.9%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Uruguay<\/strong> \u2014 12.0%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mongolia<\/strong> \u2014 11.9%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Vietnam<\/strong> \u2014 11.8%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Germany<\/strong> \u2014 11.6%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Singapore<\/strong> \u2014 9.5%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Slovakia<\/strong> \u2014 9.3%<\/strong> identify as atheist. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n United States<\/strong> \u2014 7.9%<\/strong> identify as atheist.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Atheist vs non-religious:<\/strong> surveys distinguish between people who say \u201cI am an atheist\u201d<\/strong> and those who say \u201cI have no religion\u201d<\/strong> or \u201cnot religious.\u201d<\/strong> The list above uses the WVS category for people who self-identify as atheist<\/em> (a narrower label). Many countries show substantially larger shares of non-religious<\/em> people than of declared atheists<\/em> \u2014 for example, China and some European countries report much higher \u201cnon-religious\u201d shares than strict atheist shares. Always check whether a data source reports atheist<\/em>, non-religious\/irreligious<\/em>, or convinced atheist<\/em> categories because they can differ a lot. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Survey wording matters.<\/strong> Cultural context affects how people interpret questions about belief. In some East Asian countries (e.g., China, Japan), religious identity is often expressed in cultural or ritual terms rather than belief in a personal god \u2014 so many respondents report \u201cno religion\u201d or \u201catheist\u201d even while practicing ancestor rituals, folk traditions, or forms of Buddhism\/Confucian practice that don\u2019t center a theistic god. This is why cross-country comparisons require careful reading of the survey instrument. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Multiple sources & dates.<\/strong> The WVS Wave 7 (2017\u20132022) is a major basis for current country comparisons and was compiled into public lists in 2024\u20132025. Other large surveys (WIN-Gallup, Pew Research, national panels) sometimes give different numbers depending on question wording and sampling year. Aggregators like WorldPopulationReview combine WVS results with earlier WIN-Gallup items to present the current picture. Always check the original survey date when you need absolute precision. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n East Asia & Greater China:<\/strong> Macau, Hong Kong, South Korea and China stand out with very high atheist or non-religious shares. Rapid modernization, urbanization, and cultural understandings of \u201creligion\u201d (less emphasis on theistic belief) help explain these patterns. Political and educational factors in the PRC also influence reported religiosity. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Europe (select countries):<\/strong> Several high-income European states show sizable atheist or non-religious populations (Czechia, UK, Netherlands, Germany). Historic secularization, declining formal church affiliation among younger generations, and strong separation of church and state have all contributed. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Oceania & Americas:<\/strong> Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Uruguay appear in the top-20 lists for declared atheists or non-religious people \u2014 reflecting generational shifts and growing numbers who choose no religious label. Pew and other studies document rising \u201creligiously unaffiliated\u201d shares across many high-income democracies. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Important exceptions:<\/strong> High shares of non-religion in national statistics don\u2019t mean religion has disappeared. In some places a strong cultural Christianity or Islam continues even where many report \u201cno religion.\u201d Local practice and belief are nuanced.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Short answer: yes \u2014 but unevenly.<\/strong> Global surveys and trend analyses show an increase in the religiously unaffiliated and in people willing to identify as atheists in some countries, especially among younger cohorts and in wealthier, more urbanized societies. Gallup-style global indices and Pew Research analysis both point to rising shares of the unaffiliated and of self-described atheists over the last two decades, though growth is uneven by region. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key points:<\/p>\n Pew found that the religiously unaffiliated grew as a share of the world population between 2010 and 2020. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Gallup\/WIN releases indicate long-term declines in self-reported religiosity in many nations and rising numbers identifying as \u201cconvinced atheists\u201d in some samples.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n In 2025, East Asian territories (Macau, South Korea, Hong Kong) and several Western countries show the highest shares of people calling themselves atheist<\/em> in comparable surveys. The top-20 list above gives a clear snapshot with country-level percentages drawn from WVS-based compilations. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Trends show an overall global increase in the religiously unaffiliated<\/em> and a rising share of people who will identify as atheists in many parts of the world \u2014 especially among younger, urban populations. But definitions and survey phrasing matter a lot, so always include source and methodology when publishing. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Most atheist countries in the world in 2025 \u2014 full guide, top list & percentages Discover the most atheist countries in the world in 2025 \u2014 a data-driven list with percentages, explanations of methodology, regional patterns, and what \u201catheist\u201d actually means in surveys. Sources: World Values Survey, WIN-Gallup and major research centers. Religion, belief and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-relegion"],"yoast_head":"\nTop 20 most atheist countries (2025) \u2014 with percentages<\/h2>\n
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What these percentages mean (and don\u2019t mean)<\/h2>\n
Regional patterns and why they matter<\/h2>\n
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Recent trends \u2014 are atheism and non-religion increasing?<\/h2>\n
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