Muslim Population Growth in Asia (1960–2026)

When most people think of the Muslim world, they picture the Middle East. But the data tells a completely different story — the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims have always lived in Asia, spread across a vast arc of nations that most people rarely associate with Islam at all. In this video, we track 66 years of verified Muslim population data country by country across Asia, from 1960 all the way to 2026, so you can finally see the full picture clearly and accurately. Key Moments: 🏁 1960s baseline — the distribution of Muslim populations across Asia in the early post-colonial era 🇮🇩 Indonesia's extraordinary dominance — why Southeast Asia's largest nation is also the world's largest Muslim-majority country 🇵🇰 Pakistan's remarkable demographic trajectory — from 1960 to becoming one of the world's most populous Muslim nations 🇧🇩 Bangladesh's rise — how a nation founded in 1971 became home to one of Asia's largest Muslim populations 🌏 Central Asia's Muslim populations — the countries emerging from Soviet rule and reclaiming their Islamic identities 🔍 The Middle East in context — how Arab Asia compares to South and Southeast Asia in raw Muslim population numbers Data Sources: All religious population data is sourced from the Pew Research Center's Global Religious Futures Project, the World Religion Database, and the United Nations Population Division. Music: 'Escape Velocity' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au 'Sentinel' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au If this data breakdown gave you a genuinely new perspective on the Muslim world, hit Subscribe and tap the 🔔 bell icon 👇 Now tell us in the comments: Which Asian country's Muslim population number surprised you the most — and where in the world are you watching from? #MuslimPopulation #IslamInAsia #statswithsimon