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Muslim births will outnumber Christian births by 2035, according to Pew study

Muslims take part in an Eid al-Fitr prayer on the street in Jakarta, Indonesia July 17, 2015. | Reuters/Nyimas Laula

A study conducted by the Pew Research Centre has suggested that the number of babies born to Muslim mothers will outnumber Christian births by 2035.

The report that was published on Wednesday indicated that Muslims are projected to become the world's fastest growing major religious group in the next few decades.

Between 2010 and 2015, 31 percent of all babies born around the world were Muslims, which exceeds the 24 percent Muslim share of world's population.

Christians have been the largest religious group for several years, making up almost one-third of the world's population. The study noted Christian population has continued its growth, but it has done so at a modest pace. In recent years, Christian mothers gave birth to 33 percent of the world's babies, which is slightly greater than the 31 percent Christian share of the world's population in 2015.

The report explained that the Christian population in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow in the decades ahead. However, the same cannot be expected for Christian populations elsewhere.

Deaths in the Christian population in other areas of the world are expected to outnumber births in the years to come. The projection is partly based on the fact that the Christian population in some places are already aging. In Germany, there has been an estimated 1.4 million more deaths than births between 2010 and 2015, a pattern that is expected to continue in much of Europe in the next few decades.

The study predicted that between 2030 and 2035, Muslim women will give birth to 225 million babies compared to 224 million babies born to Christian women. The higher number of births to Muslims has been attributed to the religious group's relatively young population and high fertility rates.

By 2060, Muslims and Christians are expected to capture a larger share of the world's population, while the number of people who are religiously unaffiliated is projected to decline in the coming decades.

Although religiously unaffiliated people currently make up 16 percent of the global population, only about 10 percent of the world's babies have been born to religiously unaffiliated mothers between 2010 and 2015.

The study predicts that only nine percent of the babies will be born to religiously unaffiliated women in 2055 to 2060, while 36 percent will be born to Muslims, and 35 percent will be born to Christians.

The report also expects Christians to increase from 31 percent of the world's population to 32 percent from 2015 until 2060. On the other hand, Muslims are expected to increase from 24 percent of the world's population to 31 percent within the same period.