Country rankings
Shia Population by Country
Iran has the highest Esimated Median Shia Population in 2009 (68M), followed by Pakistan (21.5M) and Iraq (20.5M). Qatar has the lowest (100K).
Year 200923 of 235 countries
Esimated Median Shia Population, 2009
Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.
Loading map…
All 23 ranked
Highest first.
Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →
Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.
Median
1.5M
Middle half 375K – 7.5M
Average
7.6M
23 countries
Highest
68M
Iran
Lowest
100K
Qatar
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
23 countries · # = rank by Esimated Median Shia Population
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Iran | 68M | 66,000,000 – 70,000,000 |
| 2 |  Pakistan | 21.5M | 17,000,000 – 26,000,000 |
| 3 |  Iraq | 20.5M | 19,000,000 – 22,000,000 |
| 4 |  India | 20M | 16,000,000 – 24,000,000 |
| 5 |  Turkey | 9M | 7,000,000 – 11,000,000 |
| 5 |  Yemen | 9M | 8,000,000 – 10,000,000 |
| 7 |  Azerbaijan | 6M | 5,000,000 – 7,000,000 |
| 8 |  Nigeria | 4M | <4,000,000 |
| 9 |  Afghanistan | 3.5M | — |
| 9 |  Syria | 3.5M | 3,000,000 – 4,000,000 |
| 11 |  Saudi Arabia | 3M | 2,000,000 – 4,000,000 |
| 12 |  Lebanon | 1.5M | 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 |
| 13 |  Tanzania | 1M | <2,000,000 |
| 14 |  Kuwait | 600K | 500,000 – 700,000 |
| 15 |  Germany | 500K | 400,000 – 600,000 |
| 16 |  Bahrain | 450K | 400,000 – 500,000 |
| 17 |  Tajikistan | 400K | ~400,000 |
| 18 |  United Arab Emirates | 350K | 300,000 – 400,000 |
| 19 |  United States | 300K | 200,000 – 400,000 |
| 20 |  United Kingdom | 200K | 100,000 – 300,000 |
| 20 |  Oman | 200K | 100,000 – 300,000 |
| 22 |  Bulgaria | 100K | ~100,000 |
| 22 |  Qatar | 100K | ~100,000 |
What correlates with Esimated Median Shia Population (2009)?
Pearson r against 1,632 other country metrics sharing at least 14 countries. Correlation is not causation.
Higher together
Places that have a higher Esimated Median Shia Population tend to score higher on these
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher Esimated Median Shia Population tend to score lower on these
Quick answers
- Which country has the highest Esimated Median Shia Population?
- Iran has the highest Esimated Median Shia Population in 2009, at 68M, followed by Pakistan (21.5M) and Iraq (20.5M).
- Which country has the lowest Esimated Median Shia Population?
- Qatar has the lowest Esimated Median Shia Population in 2009, at 100K.
- What is the median Esimated Median Shia Population across countries?
- The median is 1.5M across the 23 countries with data in 2009.
- Where does this shia population by country data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Estimated Percentage Range of Shia by Country- Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life; Mapping the Global Muslim Population- Pew Research Center.