Christians make up majority of global migrants, study shows

A recent study revealed that a huge number of migrants around the world are Christians.

New analysis by the Pew Research Center released on August 19 showed that almost half of the estimated 280 million people globally living outside their country of birth identify themselves as Christians.

They compose 47% of the total number of migrants, which is larger than they do of the world’s population at 30%.

Meanwhile, Muslims accounted for 29%, the religious unaffiliated (atheists and agnostics) at 13%, Hindus at 5%, Buddhists at 4%, and Jews at 1%.

The study indicated an 80% increase in the Christian migrant population around the world between 1990 to 2020, rising from 73 million to 131 million.

“With some exceptions, Christian migrants tend to come from countries that have Christian majorities and weaker economies than their neighbors,” said the research.

Mexico is the most common country of origin for Christian migrants, with 11.3 million people.

In Asia, the Philippines ranked third, accounting for 5.2 million individuals, with the United States as their most common destination.

According to the study, Filipinos often migrate to the US “to seek economic opportunities or due to political instability.”

On the other hand, Christian migrants from India are over three million despite being a minority in the Hindu-dominated country.

The study shows that “an estimated 16% of all the people who were born in India and now reside elsewhere.”

As for their most common destinations, Christian migrants usually move “from Russia to Ukraine and vice versa, from the Philippines to the United States, from Russia to Kazakhstan, and from Poland to Germany.”

More than 35.4 million or 27% of the Christian migrants in the world reside in the United States.

The Pew Research Center focused on stocks of migrants and not on the exact number of people who move per year.

They have also counted all adults and children who now live outside their countries of birth regardless of when they left.

The study noted that the increase of international migrants quickened by 83% over the past three decades, “outpacing global population growth of 47%.”