Source: Pew Research Center
Originally published on November 8, 2017
Concentrated in Europe, Orthodox Christians have declined as a percentage of the global population, but Ethiopian community is highly observant and growing
Over the last century, the Orthodox Christian population around the world has more than doubled and now stands at nearly 260 million. In Russia alone, it has surpassed 100 million, a sharp resurgence after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Yet despite these increases in absolute numbers, Orthodox Christians have been declining as a share of the overall Christian population – and the global population – due to far faster growth among Protestants, Catholics and non-Christians. Today, just 12% of Christians around the world are Orthodox, compared with an estimated 20% a century ago. And 4% of the total global population is Orthodox, compared with an estimated 7% in 1910.
The geographic distribution of Orthodoxy also differs from the other major Christian traditions in the 21st century. In 1910 – shortly before the watershed events of World War I, the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and the breakup of several European empires – all three major branches of Christianity (Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism) were predominantly concentrated in Europe. Since then, Catholics and Protestants have expanded enormously outside the continent, while Orthodoxy remains largely centered in Europe. Today, nearly four-in-five Orthodox Christians (77%) live in Europe, a relatively modest change from a century ago (91%). By contrast, only about one-quarter of Catholics (24%) and one-in-eight Protestants (12%) now live in Europe, down from an estimated 65% and 52%, respectively, in 1910.1
Orthodoxy’s falling share of the global Christian population is connected with demographic trends in Europe, which has lower overall fertility rates and an older population than developing regions of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South Asia. Europe’s population has long been shrinking as a share of the world’s total population, and, in coming decades, it is projected to decline in absolute numbers as well….
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Editor’s Note (Theological Discussion)

This article presents theological reflection and discussion intended to encourage informed dialogue within the Orthodox Church. Its inclusion does not imply formal endorsement of every conclusion but reflects OCL’s long‑standing commitment to thoughtful engagement with issues affecting the life of the Church.
4 Comments
This Pew Research Poll tells me that the Orthodox Church is in very sorry shape. The number of adherents is probably exaggerated. The Poll fails to mention the Charismatic Renewal. There are more members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal alone than there are Orthodox Christians world wide.
Polls have found that adherents of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal are more active in their home parishes, attend Sunday services regularly, and daily partake of Mass at a much higher frequency than Catholics in general. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is exploding in Africa.
Essentially, the Orthodox Church is dying out. I would say the three main branches of Christianity are the Pentecostal/ Charismatic Renewal, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Orthodoxy has become irrelevant.
Not true Constantinos. The Orthodox Church worldwide has always been in the minority. The Orthodox Church does not appeal to the ordinary Western Christian since it is foreign in appearance. So is Catholicism & Anglicanism, however, the growth of the Church is not really in our hands, but the Holy Spirit. We are conduits for the Holy Spirit. Preaching anything other than Christ crucified and Risen (Hellenism) will fail miserably.
Christianity is not a product or a popularity contest – Numbers are good to look at, but God does not work with numbers. If He wants the entire world to become Orthodox, HE can. But again, people have the freedom to see and make a choice by and for themselves. Orthodox faithful also must be good examples to follow. We do not actively proselytize as others do. People must follow — “come and see”…
Go forth, said the Lord. If you confess me, said the Lord. It was the preaching of Christ that converted people in the early church. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, said Paul the apostle.