Prayer is one of the most common forms of spiritual expression worldwide. Yet, how often people pray varies widely across cultures, religions, and regions.

This chart, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, ranks countries by the number and share of people who pray daily, using data from a survey by the Pew Research Center and population figures from the World Bank.

The dataset covers 35 countries and represents around 50% of the global population, excluding countries where data was unavailable (such as China).

Daily prayer is woven into the social and cultural fabric of many predominantly religious countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In contrast, people in secular Western nations tend to pray less often.

Here’s a look at the countries where people pray the most:

CountryPeople Who Pray Daily (Millions)Share of Population Praying DailyIndonesia ????????269.395%Kenya ????????47.484%Nigeria ????????195.584%Malaysia ????????28.580%Philippines ????????91.579%Brazil ????????161.176%Bangladesh ????????130.275%Ghana ????????25.173%Sri Lanka ????????15.872%Colombia ????????37.671%India ????????1030.171%South Africa ????????40.363%Türkiye ????????53.963%Peru ????????19.858%Singapore ????????2.745%Mexico ????????57.644%U.S. ????????149.644%Chile ????????8.141%Argentina ????????17.839%Greece ????????3.837%Italy ????????20.735%Israel ????????3.434%Thailand ????????22.231%Canada ????????12.430%South Korea ????????13.025%Spain ????????10.722%Japan ????????26.021%UK ????????14.521%Netherlands ????????3.620%France ????????12.318%Poland ????????6.618%Australia ????????4.416%Germany ????????13.416%Hungary ????????1.111%Sweden ????????0.88%

Generally, countries where most people pray daily are middle- and low-income or developing countries.

Indonesia tops the list, with 95% of its population—269 million people—praying daily. However, India is at the top in absolute numbers, with more than 1 billion people saying they pray daily, representing 71% of its population.

In Africa, Kenya and Nigeria have the highest rates of daily prayer. Other highly devout countries include Malaysia, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, where Islam and Christianity are dominant religions.

Overall, these countries are also highly religious. For example, 100% of Indonesians and 99% of Indians are affiliated with a religion. These percentages are much lower in developed Western nations.

Although most Western nations see low levels of daily prayer, the U.S. stands out with over 149 million Americans, or 44% of the population praying daily, with a diverse religious landscape. On the other hand, in secular European nations like Sweden, France, and Germany, less than 20% of the population prays daily.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Global Religious Composition Landscape on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.