World Shia Muslims Population
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According to Pew Research Institute, A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.6 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion. Shias are around 20% of the world muslim population. Most Shias (between 68% and 80%) live in just four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq. Shia Numbers are in the range of 320 Millions to 350 Millions and according to some estimates its in the range of 400 Millions. The bulk of the world’s Muslim population – more than six-in-ten (62%) – is located in Asia itself.   In Middle-east, The Shia majority countries are Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Yemen and also there is a larger shia population in Syria and Turkey. The Shia's are around 20% population of Syria  and Turkey. The Alevi constitute the second largest religious community in Turkey (following the Sunnis), and number some 25% (20 million) of the total population. There is also a Twelver Shia community which forms about 5% of the Muslim population. In South Asia, India the only non Muslim nation in the world with Shiite population of 4–5 percent of its entire population, has recognized the day of Ashura listed as Moharram as the Public Holiday in India. India also has the Birthday of Imam Ali as public Holiday in states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose capital Lucknow is considered as the centre of India’s Shiite Muslim community. The Birth date of Ali is not recognized by any country in any of its states other than India, Azerbaijan and Iran as public Holiday. Shia population was also acclaimed publicly as second largest by the 14th Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh quoted in the year 2005[Source Wikipedia/Indian Express]. One of the lingering problems in estimating the Shia population is that unless the Shia form a significant minority in a Muslim country, the entire population is often listed as Sunni. Shiites are estimated to be 21–35 percent of the Muslim population in South Asia, although the total number is difficult to estimate due to the intermingling between the Islamic schools and branches and also practice of taqiyya by some of the Shia's.  


In terms of the world shia muslim population, Most People don't know that about half the population of the core middle east are Shia. The nations where Shi’a Muslims form a dominant majority are Iran (95%), Azerbaijan (80%), Bahrain (75%) and Iraq (65%), a plurality in Lebanon (45%) and large minorities in Yemen (45%), Turkey (25%), Kuwait (35%), Afghanistan (20%), Pakistan (20-25%), Saudi Arabia (15%), India (20-25% of Muslims), UAE (20%), and Syria (15-20%).  The world’s 1.6 Billion Muslim population can be approximately divided into the following main sects:
1) Hanafi Sunni Muslims : 35%
2) Shafei Sunni Muslim : 25%
3) Shia Muslims : 20%
4) Maliki Sunni Muslims : 15%
5) Hambali Sunni Muslims: 4%
6) Salafi Muslims : 1%

Most Indo-European people are Hanafi. Afro-Asiatic people usually aren’t Hanafi. The majority of East Africans, The Hui (ethnic Chinese mMslim), and the Malay are Shafei. Most Muslims in West Africa are almost Al Maliki, (including the Maghrib nations (North Africa), and other places where maghrib/berber/beurette culture has spread). If you look into the numbers, Salafis, a tiny puritanical minority of Sunnis, are found only in Saudi Arabia and a few Gulf states where they are the ruling elites.


Please use the world map to check the shia population in each country. We have compiled the data of over 55 countries and rank them based on the number of Shia people live in that particular country like Iran is  rank  as # 1, India as # 2, Pakistan  # 3, Iraq # 4, Turkey # 5, Yemen #6 and so on.....
                                                                                    Over 320 Million Shia People Live in Over 100 Countries !!!

View Shia Muslims Numbers in a full screen map

References:
  1. Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population". Pew Research Center -2009.
  2. New Analysis Indicates Shia Muslim Populations are being Underreported
  3. "Foreign Affairs - When the Shiites Rise - Vali Nasr". Mafhoum.com. July/August 2006.
  4. Four Charts that Explain Shia Islam :Posted By John Bugnacki on Jul 21, 2014
  5. Wikipedia : Shia Islam in India 
  6. Pilgrimage to Karbala- Sunni and Shia: The Worlds of Islam March 26th, 2007
  7. A CFR InfoGuide Presentation: The Sunni-Shia Divide - Council on Foreign Relations 
  8. Wikipedia : List of nations whose Shia population may be estimated
  9. Sunnis and Shias - the key questions by Channel4.com : WEDNESDAY 12 JUNE 2013
  10. Number of Shias in the World in BLOG by Al-Modarresi Sayed M. | April 4, 2010
  11. Shia Muslims Around the World || Imam Reza (A.S.) Network
  12. World Shia Muslims Facts: Shia Situation>Countries Classified in Terms of Continents>Asia
  13. Religion in Turkey : Wikipedia
  14. Islamic schools and branches : Sunni and Shia Islam
  15. Religion Library: Shia Islam Written by: Anna Akasoy
  16. "The New Middle East, Turkey, and the Search for Regional Stability". Strategic Studies Institute. April 2008
  17. Shia Crescent in the Middle East is a good news for Islam, democracy and the West
  18. Shiaworldwide: Statistical Population Report of the Twelver Shiites Worldwide
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