Pew Study: U.S. Muslim Population Soars 50% in 10 Years

Newsweek

In the past decade, Muslims living in the U.S. has increased by nearly one million people—and if that population growth continues, Muslims could replace religiously Jewish people as America’s second-largest religious group by 2040, a new study out of the Pew Research Center shows. 

Coming up with a detailed account of how many Muslim people live in the U.S. is difficult, because the Census Bureau does not ask questions about religion. 

However, based on Pew’s demographic research and survey results, they estimate that about 1.1 percent of the total U.S. population is Muslim. 

In 2007, there were approximately 2.35 million Muslims living in the U.S. According to Pew’s projections, the Muslim population is growing much faster than the country’s Jewish population, and by 2050, the U.S. Muslim population will reach 8.1 million, or 2.1 percent of the nation’s total population—that’s twice their representation today. 

In fact, the U.S. Muslim population increases at about 100,000 people every year. This increase isn’t due to religious conversions, because about as many Americans convert to Islam as those who leave Islam, the study shows.