Data for the rates of growth of Islam reveal that the growing number of Muslims is due primarily to immigration (in the West) and higher birth rates (worldwide).

• In 2006, countries with a Muslim majority had an average population growth rate of 1.8% per year (when weighted by percentage Muslim and population size). This compares with a world population growth rate of 1.12% per year.

• According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the World Christian Database as of 2007 estimated the six fastest growing religions of the world to be Islam (1.84%), the Bahá'í Faith (1.7%), Sikhism (1.62%), Jainism (1.57%), Hinduism (1.52%), and Christianity (1.32%). High birth rates were cited as the reason for the growth.

• Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiles the Vatican's yearbook, said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that "For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population—a stable percentage—while Muslims were at 19.2 percent. "It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Conversion

There are also many unreliable claims and rumours, especially for conversion rates, that often spread as urban legends. Data on conversion rates are hard to verify.

For example, it has been claimed by the New York Times that 25% of American Muslims are converts to Islam.. In Britain, there are also claims that around 10,000 - 20,000 people convert to Islam per year.However, there are sources that claim conversions to Buddhism outnumber those to Islam..

See also

• Fastest Growing Religion
• List of countries by Muslim population
• Religious views on birth control
• Islamic Missionary Activity

Europe:

• Islam in Europe
• Eurabia

References

1. BBC news site
2. Averaging of individual country figures from CIA factbook see also Demographics of Islam
3. CIA Factbook
4. FOXNews.com - Vatican: Islam Surpasses Roman Catholicism as World's Largest Religion - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News
5. Muslim Convert Faces Discrimination Accessed 2008-01-17
6. World Christian Encyclopedia
7. Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani