A new global study has highlighted fresh developments affecting Christianity worldwide, with researchers pointing to demographic shifts, persecution and urbanisation as some of the key areas of focus for church leaders.
The findings come from the Status of Global Christianity 2026 report by the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Center for the Study of Global Christianity.
One of the most notable findings is that although Christianity continues to grow worldwide, Islam is expanding at a faster rate.
An analysis by Lifeway Research finds that the Christian population is growing annually by 0.95%, while Islam is increasing at 1.57% annually. The global Muslim population has now surpassed 2 billion and is projected to reach 3.4 billion by 2075, narrowing the gap significantly.
There is continued decline in traditionally Christian regions of the world. Europe, once home to the largest concentration of Christians, is seeing a steady decrease, with around 553 million Christians and an annual decline of 0.41%.
North America’s Christian population, currently estimated at 275 million, is also shrinking with an annual decline of 0.16%.
Christianity continues to decline in the Middle East, the birthplace of the faith. Christians made up 12.7% of the region’s population in 1900. That figure dropped to 6.1% by 1970 and now stands at 4.2%, with further decline expected at an annual decrease of -0.07%.
Rapid urban growth is creating more challenges and opportunities for evangelism. The number of cities with populations of more than a million has risen dramatically - from only 20 in 1900 to 670 at present. Yet many of these urban centres have little Christian presence. Over 60% of the world’s key cities are now considered minority-Christian, compared with just a quarter 125 years ago.
Despite progress in missionary work and Bible translation, over a quarter of the world’s population still has no access to the gospel, and researchers estimate that 27.7% of people globally - around 2.3 billion individuals - remain unreached, while less than 20% of non-Christians personally know a Christian.
Regarding persecution, the long-term number of Christians killed for their faith has fallen compared with previous decades, nonetheless around 900,000 Christians are estimated to have died for their faith in the last 10 years.
Another area of concern is the global refugee crisis. Displacement levels have risen sharply in recent decades, with the refugee rate now standing at 450 per 100,000 people worldwide.
The report also raises alarm over financial losses within Christian ministries and churches. Researchers estimate that around $70 billion is lost annually through theft, fraud and other forms of ecclesiastical crime. This is up from $19 billion in the year 2000.
