Reading the population data
The country pages present figures from Houssain Kettani, The World Muslim Population: Spatial and Temporal Analyses (Jenny Stanford Publishing, 2020). Use the year, place, units and figure type together when comparing populations.
What the figures show
Country tables display total population and Muslim population in thousands, and Muslim share as a percentage. The CSV files make the published site’s decennial data from 1790 to 2100 easier to inspect. Earlier centuries can be explored on the interactive map.
Estimates and projections
The site’s existing data series includes historical estimates and values beyond the 2020 publication year of the cited book. On country pages, values through 2020 are labelled source estimates; later values are labelled projections. A source estimate is not necessarily a direct census count. A projection expresses a modelled future scenario, not an observed population.
Scope and citation
Country boundaries, survey coverage and estimation methods may differ across places and periods. For the underlying research and its original references, consult Houssain Kettani, The World Muslim Population: Spatial and Temporal Analyses (Jenny Stanford Publishing, 2020). Please cite the book when using its research and include the country, year, and whether the figure is an estimate or projection.
Editorial review
Some historical narratives and tables may use different series or publication contexts. Where a discrepancy is identified, CoMPS flags it on the page rather than silently changing the research. Browse country guides.