The 20 Least Religious Countries (Plus Where the U.S. Stands)
The 20 Least Religious Countries (Plus Where the U.S. Stands)
If there’s one thing we can learn from this week’s events, it’s this: religious violence has no place in society. It destroys lives and communities, drives political decisions, and slows social progress. Our global community deserves better.
You may be looking for where you can be safe from such violence. Consider these least religious countries where one of the most prominent belief systems is “no religion at all.”
Australia
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According to its 2021 census, nearly 40% of Australians claim no religious affiliation at all.
Belarus
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More residents of Belarus are leaving religion behind with each passing decade. Over 41% of Belarusians identified themselves as non-believers in 2011. This is likely a continuation of the state’s atheism during the Soviet era.
Belgium
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According to a poll presented by the European Commission in 2021, 41% of Belgium’s population do not follow any religion—a 14% increase over EC’s 2010 poll. The figures were split into atheists (15%) and agnostics (26%).
Canada
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After Christianity, nonbelievers represent the biggest religious bloc in Canada. Their 2021 census found that 35% of Canadians report having no religion at all.
China
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The People’s Republic of China is officially an atheist state. A 2014 study by China Family Panel Studies found that almost 74% of Chinese nationals claim either folk religion (e.g., Taoism or Confucianism) or no religion at all. China’s ties for the top spot of least religious countries.
Czech Republic
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Nonbelievers make up the majority of Czechia’s population; 47.8% claimed no religious affiliation on the 2021 census. This marks a drastic change since the first half of last century, when over 90% of Czechs claimed Christianity as their faith.
Estonia
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In their 2021 census, Estonia estimated that 58.4% of its population is non-religious. This was historically a Lutheran Christian nation, though it’s now considered one of the least religious countries in the world.
France
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The French have held to secular values like freedom of thought since the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen in 1789. Today, nonbelievers make up 1/3 of France’s populace, second only to Roman Catholicism.
Germany
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Although Catholicism counts about one in four Germans among its ranks, non-religious people outnumber them handily. Germany’s 2022 census reports estimate that 44% of its population is atheist or agnostic.
Japan
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Japan may be considered a spiritual country, following a myriad of ritualistic traditions, but it’s not a religious one. A 2018 study by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) found that 62% of Japanese don’t hold to any religion at all.
Latvia
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Two-thirds of Latvians identified as Protestants before World War II. As of 2019, over 31% of Latvia doesn’t claim any religion whatsoever.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg is a secular state in Europe. A 2020 report from the European Commission found that 38% of Luxembourg’s population identified as nonbelievers.
The Netherlands
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Christianity dominated in the Netherlands prior to the 20th century. Today, non-belief is the majority opinion among the Dutch; 57.2% of the population reported no religious affiliation in Statistics Netherlands’ 2022 study.
New Zealand
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Known as Aotearoa by the indigenous Māori, New Zealand doesn’t have a state religion. The majority of Kiwis (48.6%) identified with no religion in the country’s 2018 census.
Slovakia
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This eastern European nation says Catholicism is still its dominant religion. However, Slovakians saw a 15% drop in adherence to the faith in the 2021 census, while nonreligious people comprise the second-biggest bloc at 23.8%.
South Korea
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South Korea has significant populations who adhere to Buddhism, Protestantism, and Catholicism. Gallup Korea’s 2021 census found that the majority of Koreans—a full 60%—follow no religion at all.
Sweden
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Swedes largely practiced Christianity from the 12th to early 20th centuries. As of the 2021 census, though, the religion had fallen to just over 53% of the population. A full 38% of Sweden now claim to be agnostic or atheist.
United Kingdom
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After being dominated by various Christian sects over 1400 years, the UK has become one of the most secular societies today. Fifty-two percent of Brits identified themselves as non-religious in a 2018 report from the Association of Religious Data Archives.
Uruguay
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The South American country of Uruguay officially established church-state separation in 1916. With 45% of its population responding as nonbelievers in the 2021 census, it’s become the most secular nation in the Americas.
Vietnam
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Rather than identify with organized religions, most Vietnamese people participate in folk practices like venerating ancestors during annual festivals. Today, about 74% of Vietnam doesn’t identify with any particular religion at all, tying with China as the least religious countries worldwide.
Where does the U.S. stand?
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Like many countries on this list, the United States has seen a decline in religious affiliation over the years. A 2021 Pew Research Center study found that Christianity declined from 75% to 63% of the U.S. population in the previous decade. Meanwhile, religiously unaffiliated people now account for 29% of the population. Non-believers will comprise 52% of the American population by 2070, if this trend continues.
Stay in School: It’s Illegal to Homeschool in These Countries
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Homeschooling has steadily grown in popularity since the ’70s, when John Holt advocated for the practice across the U.S. The usual growth rates of 2%-8% per year surged higher still during the pandemic.
Today, 11.1% of American children are homeschooled. In other countries, however, homeschooling is restricted, managed by public or private schools, or flat out illegal.
➤ Stay in School: It’s Illegal to Homeschool in These Countries
11 Reasons Women Are Fleeing the USA
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While the number of people emigrating from the United States grows, there’s one thing the news isn’t reporting: many of these people are women.
The number of solo woman expats is soaring, while married women work to convince reticent husbands to move abroad. Here are some of the reasons women are fleeing the USA:
➤ 11 Reasons Women Are Fleeing the USA
45 Countries Where Abortion is Legal
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Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022 and end nearly half a century of precedent, American women have sought out countries to move to where reproductive rights are protected. It’s rarely the sole factor in an aspiring emigrant’s decision to leave the U.S., but it’s a significant one.
International law regarding abortion varies considerably and can involve time limits and other legal grounds, but these are countries where abortion is legal or largely protected.
➤ 45 Countries Where Abortion is Legal
Is the US Driving You Insane? Consider These Countries for Mental Health
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Since 2022, the Expatsi Test has helped users find out where they’d like to move abroad to, based on their personal needs. Its data covers everything from healthcare rankings to languages spoken and best places for raising kids. The goal—to boost psychological safety for Americans by navigating to a healthier life in another country.
Over 40,000 people have taken the Expatsi Test in the last 18 months. Here’s their best countries for mental health, based on test data:
➤ Is the US Driving You Insane? Consider These Countries for Mental Health
Brett Andrews is the co-founder of Expatsi, a company that helps expats discover how to leave the U.S. Brett and his partner Jen developed the Expatsi Test to recommend countries to move to, based on factors like budget, visa type, spoken languages, healthcare rankings, and more. In a former life, he worked as a software developer, IT support specialist, and college educator. When he's not working, Brett loves watching comic book movies and reading unusual books.
Brett Andrews is the co-founder of Expatsi, a company that helps expats discover how to leave the U.S. Brett and his partner Jen developed the Expatsi Test to recommend countries to move to, based on factors like budget, visa type, spoken languages, healthcare rankings, and more. In a former life, he worked as a software developer, IT support specialist, and college educator. When he's not working, Brett loves watching comic book movies and reading unusual books.