Half of migrants are Christian

Washington, D.C. -- The enormous increase in migratory flows from one continent to another is one of the most interesting and widely studied phenomena at the beginning of the 21st century. According to a recent investigation by the Pew Research Center –an independent institute for political and social analysis based in Washington –about half of the world's migrants are Christian and more than a quarter Muslim.This research was carried out in the year 2010 and includes comparisons with data based on various studies on immigration. In particular, it defines as a migrant “someone who has been living for one year or longer in a country other than the one in which he or she was born”.

Since 1960, the researchers say, the number of migrants has approximately tripled, soaring to a total of 214 million in 2010. Of these, it is emphasized, Christians comprised an estimated 106 million (49 per cent), while more than 60 million were Muslim. Mexico, Russia and Ukraine are the principal nations from which Christians emigrated. As for the destination countries, the United States is the world's no. 1 destination, having accepted one immigrant out of five in the total flow. Faithful affiliated to other religions are far fewer: in 2010 eleven million migrants (5 per cent) were Hindu, seven million (3 per cent) were Buddhist and just over three and a half million (less than 2 per cent) were Jewish. According to Pew Research the analysis, entitled “Faith on the Move”, roughly reflects the general situation with regard to the consistence of the world's Christian population. Indeed, while about one person in three in the world is Christian, in the case of immigrants the relationship is one in two. As has been said, the United States and North America, again during the year in question, in general welcomed the greatest number of immigrants (43 million). Next came Europe, Australia and the Arab countries. After the U.S., nations with high percentages of immigrants are Russia and Germany (with more than 10 million each). Mexico turned out to be the country with the largest migrant population (more than 13 million), the majority of whom choose as their destination precisely the United States. Saudi Arabia instead is the privileged destination of Muslims, followed by Russia, Germany and France. India and Israel, finally, are the main destinations respectively for Hindus and for Jews from other nations. Among other things the Pew Research analysis highlights the fact that Europe, contrarily to what is commonly perceived, is the destination of more Christian emigrants than Muslims.

In a previous Pew Research study, another phenomenon was emphasized: the considerable changes that have occurred over time in the distribution of the world's Christian population (6.9 per billion). In fact, Christians in the various countries account for 2.19 billion, almost a third of the world population (6.9 billion), but the barycentre of their presence has decisively moved, as time has passed, from Europe to America, to Africa and to Asia. The number of Christians in the past 100 years has more or less quadrupled. What stands out in particular is the fact that on the European continent the area no longer appears mainly Christian. In 1910 at least 66.3 per cent of the faithful of various Christian denominations were found in Europe, 27.1 per cent in America and lesser percentages in other geographical areas. In 2010 the situation has entirely changed: 25.9 per cent of Christians were present in Europe, 36.8 percent in America and 23.6 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  L’Osservatore Romano (9.3.2012)

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