Top 50 Least Christian Provinces
07 Apr 2023This is a short week prior to the Easter holiday. While we celebrate the Good News of the Resurrection, let us remember the places in our world where that Good News is heard very little.
There are 4,000 provinces in the world. Of these, 1,000 are estimated in my database to be under 8% Christian (and I consider that to be a very accurate estimate). Perhaps 600 are under 2% Christian (this is a little more problematic because some of the provinces may have DMM work that may have brought them slightly over the 2% line, but it is almost certainly in the right ‘ballpark’). Of those under 8% Christian, a little over 200 are known to be engaged by DMM teams (and obviously there are other Christian and church planting efforts).
The following 50 provinces will all be over 10 million in population (or right at the line), and are all under 8% Christian (with many under 2%). Some, but not all, of these have DMM engagement (as well as other significant Christian missionary efforts), but the population scales mean there is much left to do. Bringing any of these provinces across the 10% Christian line could introduce significant changes in their nation and the world.
| Ctry | Province | Pop’25 | %C |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN | Uttar Pradesh | 244,010,000 | 0.2 |
| IN | Bihar | 124,390,000 | 0.2 |
| PK | Punjab | 114,550,000 | 2.6 |
| CN | Guangdong | 112,010,000 | 5.0 |
| IN | West Bengal | 109,070,000 | 1.2 |
| CN | Shandong | 102,870,000 | 5.0 |
| IN | Madhya Pradesh | 86,790,000 | 2.2 |
| CN | Sichuan | 86,360,000 | 3.8 |
| IN | Rajasthan | 81,910,000 | 0.4 |
| CN | Hebei | 77,160,000 | 5.6 |
| IN | Karnātaka | 73,010,000 | 4.0 |
| IN | Gujarāt | 72,220,000 | 1.2 |
| CN | Hunan | 70,540,000 | 4.3 |
| CN | Hubei | 61,470,000 | 6.0 |
| ID | Jawa Barat (W) | 50,257,000 | 7.0 |
| IN | Odisha | 50,160,000 | 2.0 |
| PK | Sindh | 49,860,000 | 1.7 |
| CN | Guangxi Zhuang | 49,430,000 | 2.9 |
| BD | Dhaka | 48,282,000 | 0.9 |
| CN | Jiangxi | 47,860,000 | 7.9 |
| ID | Jawa Timur (E) | 42,336,000 | 4.0 |
| PK | Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa | 42,200,000 | 0.4 |
| IN | Jhārkhand | 39,420,000 | 6.0 |
| CN | Guizhou | 37,310,000 | 7.6 |
| IN | Assam | 37,290,000 | 7.0 |
| BD | Chittagong | 34,240,000 | 0.4 |
| IN | Punjab | 33,150,000 | 2.2 |
| CN | Chongqing | 30,980,000 | 6.8 |
| IN | Chhattisgarh | 30,530,000 | 2.5 |
| IN | Haryāna | 30,290,000 | 0.3 |
| CN | Gansu | 27,460,000 | 3.8 |
| CN | Xinjiang Uygur | 23,430,000 | 4.0 |
| BD | Rajshahi | 22,520,000 | 0.4 |
| IN | Delhi | 20,060,000 | 1.8 |
| BD | Rangpur | 19,234,000 | 0.4 |
| BD | Khulna | 18,099,000 | 0.4 |
| TR | Istanbul | 15,370,000 | 0.3 |
| IN | Jammu and Kashmir | 14,990,000 | 0.3 |
| IR | Tehrān | 14,397,000 | 2.6 |
| CN | Tianjin | 13,890,000 | 2.6 |
| BD | Mymensingh | 13,827,000 | 0.9 |
| JP | Tokyo | 13,220,000 | 1.8 |
| ID | Banten | 12,393,000 | 3.0 |
| IN | Uttarakhand | 12,050,000 | 0.6 |
| BD | Sylhet | 11,923,000 | 0.3 |
| IQ | Baghdad | 11,610,000 | 0.8 |
| BD | Barisal | 10,138,000 | 0.3 |
| EG | Al Jizah (Giza) | 9,610,000 | 7.0 |
| SA | Makkah al Mukarramah | 9,520,000 | 1.0 |
| ID | Lampung | 9,378,000 | 2.5 |