The Pew research centre says that there will be 311 million Muslims in India by 2050, a population which will constitute 11 per cent of the global trend. The research said that India will continue to house the largest number of Hindus in the world, with their population rising to 1.3 billion. Currently, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population.

The research states that young median age and high fertility rates are the reasons behind the increasing population. For Muslims, this age is 22 as compared to Hindus the age is 26. The median age for Christians is 28. Muslim women in India have an average of 3.2 children per woman against Hindu women have 2.5 children per woman and Christian women have 2.3 children per woman.

The Muslim population is expected to rise faster from 14.4 per cent in 2010 to 18.4 per cent of the total population in 2050. Christian population in India, presently at 2.5 percent of the total population right now, will reduce to 2.3 percent of the total population in 2050, the report adds.

Pew research centre has said in its report that Muslims are the fastest growing religious groups in the world. The research centre has projected the Muslim population to increase faster than the world population as whole.

By Premji