Rajen Zed
About 1.4 billion or 15% of world’s population will be Hindu in 2050, according to a demographic study released on April 2 by Washington DC headquartered Pew Research Centre, which calls itself ‘a nonpartisan fact tank.’
It indicates that worldwide Hindu population is projected to rise by 34%, roughly keeping pace with overall population growth.
Hindu fertility (2.4 children per woman) is similar to the global average (2.5), lower than Muslim and Christian fertility, but higher than Jewish and Buddhist fertility. About 260,000 will switch in to Hinduism during 2010-2050, while 250,000 will move out.
Doubling decade
In North America, the Hindu share of the population is expected to nearly double in the decades ahead, from 0.7% in 2010 to 1.3% in 2050, when migration is included in the projection models.
According to the study, without migration, the Hindu share of the region’s population would remain about the same (0.8%).
Over the same period, the number of Hindus in Europe is expected to roughly double, from a little under 1.4 million (0.2% of Europe’s population) to nearly 2.7 million (0.4%), mainly as a result of immigration.
In Middle East-North Africa, 0.6% population will be Hindu with migration and 0.3% without migration.
Indian Muslims
Although India will continue to have a Hindu majority, by 2050 it is projected to have the world’s largest Muslim population, surpassing Indonesia, the study said.
I congratulate the Hindu community worldwide for continuing with the traditional values of hard work, higher morals, stress on education and sanctity of marriage amidst so many distractions.
I hope that Hindus will focus on inner search, stay pure, explore the vast wisdom of scriptures, make spirituality more attractive to youth and children, stay away from greed, and always keep God in their life.
Rajen Zed is President of the Universal Society of Hinduism based in Nevada, USA.
