Visualizing Africa’s North-South Religious Divide

In the hundred years between 1900–2000, Africa’s Muslim and Christian populations grew 20x and 70x respectively. A large part of this staggering increase was simply population growth.

But the percentage of followers of the respective religions grew as well. Now, one in three Africans is a Muslim, one in two a Christian, and only one in 10 a follower of a traditional faith.

To visualize the religious demographics, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao maps out the largest religious group by share of the population in every African country. Data is sourced from the U.S. State Department’s 2022 report on International Religious Freedom.

Why This Unique Religious Divide Exists

At a glance, Northern Africa is heavily Muslim, and sub-Saharan Africa heavily Christian.

Country
Largest Religious Group
% of Population
🇳🇦 Namibia
Christian
97
🇨🇬 Congo
Christian
96
🇿🇲 Zambia
Christian
96
🇱🇸 Lesotho
Christian
95
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea
Christian
93
🇷🇼 Rwanda
Christian
92
🇸🇿 Eswatini
Christian
90
🇨🇫 Central African Republic
Christian
89
🇨🇩 DRC
Christian
87
🇧🇮 Burundi
Christian
86
🇰🇪 Kenya
Christian
86
🇱🇷 Liberia
Christian
86
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
Christian
86
🇲🇬 Madagascar
Christian
85
🇨🇻 Cape Verde
Christian
84
🇸🇨 Seychelles
Christian
82
🇺🇬 Uganda
Christian
82
🇿🇦 South Africa
Christian
81
🇬🇦 Gabon
Christian
80
🇦🇴 Angola
Christian
79
🇧🇼 Botswana
Christian
79
🇲🇼 Malawi
Christian
77
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
Christian
73
🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe
Christian
72
🇬🇭 Ghana
Christian
71
🇨🇲 Cameroon
Christian
69
🇹🇿 Tanzania
Christian
63
🇲🇿 Mozambique
Christian
62
🇸🇸 South Sudan
Christian
61
🇧🇯 Benin
Christian
49
🇹🇬 Togo
Christian
42
🇪🇷 Eritrea*
Christian/Muslim
49
🇲🇺 Mauritius
Hindu
49
🇩🇿 Algeria
Muslim
99
🇲🇷 Mauritania
Muslim
99
🇲🇦 Morocco
Muslim
99
🇸🇴 Somalia
Muslim
99
🇹🇳 Tunisia
Muslim
99
🇰🇲 Comoros
Muslim
98
🇳🇪 Niger
Muslim
98
🇬🇲 The Gambia
Muslim
97
🇱🇾 Libya
Muslim
97
🇸🇳 Senegal
Muslim
97
🇩🇯 Djibouti
Muslim
94
🇲🇱 Mali
Muslim
94
🇸🇩 Sudan
Muslim
91
🇪🇬 Egypt
Muslim
90
🇬🇳 Guinea
Muslim
85
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
Muslim
77
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
Muslim
64
🇹🇩 Chad
Muslim
52
🇳🇬 Nigeria
Muslim
50
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau
Muslim
46
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
Muslim
43

Note: Inclusive of all denominations and sects. *Estimates vary on which is the largest religious group. Data unavailable for Western Sahara.

In the 7th century AD, the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates spread Islam through their conquests along the northern edge of Africa.

Meanwhile, Christianity had already spread to the continent in the first century AD. However, 15th century European colonial missions took the religion into sub-Saharan Africa.

Noticeably, countries in the middle of the continent tend to have large populations of both, with one group holding a slim majority. For example, Nigeria is only about 50% Muslim. However, this translates into the the highest number of Muslims in a country in absolute terms, at 115 million.

Mauritius is the only African country with a Hindu majority—a religion brought by indentured Indian labor for French and British colonial plantations.

Interestingly, Eritrea may be an even split, though depending on the estimate, either side may hold the majority. These religious demographics also played a part in the country’s previous civil wars.