World Christian Database: field definitions

Data source: Gina A. Zurlo and Todd M. Johnson, eds., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2024).

Table Field Description
language Mother tongue speakers Mother-tongue speakers in 2020. A blank population indicates that there is no people group with this language as their primary language. Populations are cumulative between language heirachy levels.
language Muslims Number of mother-tongue speakers who are Muslims.
language New Testament date Earliest date (-and most recent date) a New Testament was published in (any dialect) of this language.
language People count The number of people groups with this language code.
language People with gospel access The number of mother-tongue speakers of this language with access to the gospel.
language People with gospel access % The percentage of this language's mother-tongue speakers with access to the gospel.
language WLC language code World Language Classification language code.
people Agnostics Agnostic population for this people group in this country. These are persons professing no religion, or professing unbelief or non-belief, non-believers, agnostics, freethinkers, liberal thinkers, non-religious humanists, indifference to both religion and atheism, apathetic, opposed on principle neither to religion nor to atheism; sometimes termed secularists or materialists; also post-Christian, dechristianized or de-religionized populations.
people Agnostics who know Christians Agnostics who know Christians.
people Atheists Atheist Population among this people group. Atheists are militantly anti-religious or anti-Christian agnostics, secularists, or marxists.
people Autoglossonym Peoples own name for their language.
people Baha'is Bahai population for this people group in this country. Bahais are followers of the Bahai World Faith, founded by Bahaullah, since 1844. In government censuses Bahais are usually counted as Muslims or Hindus and not shown separately.
people Bible availability Availability of a translations of the New Testament or Bible into this language (including multiple dialects) .
people Buddhists Buddhist population for this people group in this country. Followers of the Buddha, include: (a) Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) or Northern Buddhism; (b) Theravada (Teaching of the Elders) or Southern Buddhism, stigmatized by Mahayanists as Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle, i.e. available to fewer people), actually the older, purer form of Buddhism; (c) Vajrayana, Mantrayana, Guhyamantrayana, or Tantrayana (Esoteric Vehicle), known as Tantrism, Shingon or Lamaism; and (d) traditional Buddhist sects, but excluding neo-Buddhist new religions or religious movements.
people Buddhists who know Christians Buddhists who know Christians.
people Chinese folk-religionists Chinese folk-religionists population for this people group in this country.
people Christian growth % p.a. 1900-2020 The average annual growth rate of the Christian population from 1900 to the base year 2020.
people Christians Christian population for this people group in this country.
people Christians 1900 Christians in this people group in 1900.
people Christians who know Agnostics Christians who know Agnostics.
people Christians who know Buddhists Christians who know Buddhists.
people Christians who know Ethnic religionists Christians who know Ethnic religionists.
people Christians who know Hindus Christians who know Hindus.
people Christians who know Muslims Christians who know Muslims.
people Christians who know non-Christians Christians who know non-Christians.
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Religions

Data on 18 categories of religion, including non-religious, by country, province, and people.

Countries and regions

Data on all religions, Christian activities, and trends.

Denominations

Membership data, year begun, and rates of change.

Cities & provinces

Population and religion data on all major cities & provinces.

Peoples & languages

Detailed information covering religion, culture, and geography.

Archive

A repository of historical data, including a chronology of Christianity from the 1st to 21st centuries.