India will overtake Indonesia as the country with the maximum number of Muslims, while Hindus will become the world's third largest population by 2050, according to a new study.
The Hindu population, which currently stands at a little over a billion, is expected to rise by 34 percent globally to almost 1.4 billion by 2050, reports The Times of India.
According to the report, Hindus will be third in terms of numbers, making up 14.9 percent of the world's total population by 2050. They will be followed by non-religious people, who will account for 13.2 percent, the report added.
People with no religious affiliation currently occupy the third largest share of the world's total population.
According to the report, the rate of growth of Muslims is expected to be faster than the world's total population, while Christians and Hindus would more or less would be on par with the worldwide population growth.
"India will retain a Hindu majority but also will have the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, surpassing Indonesia."
"Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion."
The report also predicted that by 2050, the Muslims (2.8 billion, or 30 per cent of the population) and Christians (2.9 billion, or 31 per cent) would be neck and neck in terms of total numbers, possibly for the first time in history.
