Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious movement originating in 1889 in northern India around the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who claimed to have been divinely appointed as both the promised Mahdi and Messiah expected by Muslims to appear towards the end times.
As of 2016[update] the Community has been established in 209 countries and territories of the world.[1][2][3][n 1] with concentrations in South Asia, West Africa, East Africa and Indonesia. The Community is a minority Muslim group in almost every country of the world. On the other hand, it has spread to most countries of the world.[4][5] In some countries, it is practically illegal to be an Ahmadi Muslim. For instance, in Pakistan, following Ordinance XX, Ahmadis cannot call themselves Muslims, profess the Islamic creed publicly or call their places of worship mosques. The religious slur "Qadiani" has been used against Ahmadi Muslims and the community has also been persecuted. Together, these factors make it difficult to estimate the Ahmadiyya population for both the Community itself and as well as independent organizations. For this reason, the Community gives a figure of "tens of millions";[6] however, most independent sources variously estimate the population to be at least 10 to 20 million[7] worldwide, thereby representing around 1% of the world's Muslim population.[n 2]
According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, the Ahmadiyya movement is the fastest growing Islamic group as of the early 21st century.[n 3] The country with the largest Ahmadiyya population is Pakistan, with an estimated 4 million Ahmadi Muslims.[8] Excluding small nations, the country with the largest proportion of Ahmadi Muslims to the wider Muslim population is Ghana, standing at 16%. The country with the highest percentage of the overall population is Sierra Leone standing at over 8%.
The population is almost entirely contained in the single, organized and united movement, commonly referred to as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC), headed by the Khalifa. The other is the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, a separatist group which, though historically significant, has failed to attract a sizeable following representing less than 0.2% of the total Ahmadiyya population.[n 4]
Countries
Maps
The following maps summarize the data presented in the table below.
World Ahmadi Muslim population. (Sources are various. See table below.)
World Ahmadi Muslims as a percentage of Muslims. (Sources are various. See table below.)
Table
The following figures display estimates of the number of Ahmadi Muslims and their percentages by country. However, it does not list all the countries with the Ahmadiyya presence.
^Depending on the definition, there are 195 or 196 countries in the world, of which 193 are member states of the United Nations. Under the constitutive theory of statehood there are 206 sovereign states. There are dozens of territories and colonies that are sometimes erroneously called "countries". See:
^A figure of 10 to 20 million represents 0.62% to 1.25% of the world's Muslim population.
^The Ahmadiyya Movement has been the fastest growing Islamic group according to the World Christian Encyclopedia for a number of decades. For this, see earlier editions. The 2001 edition places the growth rate at 3.25%, which is the highest of all Islamic sects and schools of thought. See:
David B. Barrett; George Thomas Kurian; Todd M. Johnson, eds. (February 15, 2001). World Christian Encyclopedia. Oxford University Press USA. ISBN0195079639.
^The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement has unofficially stated its total population to be up to 30,000, of which 5,000 to 10,000 live in Pakistan. On this basis, the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement represents approximately 0.2% of the total Ahmadiyya population.See:
^There is also an upper estimate of 200,000 Ahmadi Muslims in Bangladesh.
^The actual figure as stated in the 1996 census is 1,976.
^Ghana's Muslims have previously raised concern over the census figures which states that 17% of Ghanaians belong to the Muslim faith. It is claimed that Muslims represent somewhere between 30 and 45% of Ghana. Under this, the Ahmadiyya population would number almost 2 million. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community itself gives an estimate of over 2 million Ahmadis in Ghana. See:
Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosques Around the World – A Pictorical Presentation. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; Khilafat Centenary Edition. 2008. p. 70. ISBN978-1882494514.
^There are over 200 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Guyana. However, the Lahore Ahmadiyya movement is also active in Guyana, for which figures are unavailable at the moment. Thus, a figure of 200 is unlikely to be representative of the total Ahmadiyya population. See:
^The 1998 Pakistani census states that there are 291,000 (0.22%) Ahmadis in Pakistan. However, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has boycotted the census since 1974 which renders official Pakistani figures to be inaccurate. Independent groups have estimated the Pakistani Ahmadiyya population to be somewhere between 2 million and 4 million Ahmadis. However, the 4 million figure is the most quoted figure. See:
600,000: Freedom House. "The Impact of Blasphemy Laws on Human Rights". p. 120. ((cite web)): Missing or empty |url= (help)
3 million: International Federation for Human Rights: International Fact-Finding Mission. Freedoms of Expression, of Association and of Assembly in Pakistan. Ausgabe 408/2, Januar 2005, S. 61 (PDF)
3–4 million: Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2005, S. 130
^It is estimated that there are 1,000 Ahmadis in the country. However, Sunni Muslims claim to have more followers in the country. Taking a lower bound, it can be stipulated that Ahmadis represent 50% of the country's Muslims. See
Flower, Scott (September 2008). "Muslims in Melanesia: putting security issues in perspective". Australian Journal of International Affairs. 62 (3). Taylor & Francis: 408–429. doi:10.1080/10357710802286841. S2CID153502801.
^The exact figure as stated in the 2012 census is 14,161
^There are over 500 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. However, there is also a large presence of the Lahore Ahmadiyya movement, for which figures are unavailable. Thus, a figure of 500 is unlikely to be representative of the total Ahmadiyya population. See:
Breach of Faith. Human Rights Watch. June 2005. p. 8. Retrieved March 29, 2014. Estimates of around 20 million would be appropriate
Larry DeVries; Don Baker; Dan Overmyer (2011-01-01). Asian Religions in British Columbia. University of Columbia Press. ISBN978-0-7748-1662-5. Retrieved March 29, 2014. The community currently numbers around 15 million spread around the world
Juan Eduardo Campo (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. p. 24. ISBN978-0-8160-5454-1. Retrieved March 29, 2014. The total size of the Ahmadiyya community in 2001 was estimated to be more than 10 million
^The 1998 Pakistani census states that there are 291,000 (0.22%) Ahmadis in Pakistan. However, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has boycotted the census since 1974 which renders official Pakistani figures to be inaccurate. Independent groups have estimated the Pakistani Ahmadiyya population to be somewhere between 2 million and 4 million Ahmadis with the 4 million figure being the most quoted figure and accounting for approximately 2.2% of the country. See:
3 million: International Federation for Human Rights: International Fact-Finding Mission. Freedoms of Expression, of Association and of Assembly in Pakistan. Ausgabe 408/2, Januar 2005, S. 61 (PDF)
3–4 million: Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2005, S. 130
^"Mitgliederzahlen: Islam", in: Religionswissenschaftlicher Medien- und Informationsdienst|Religionswissenschaftliche Medien- und Informationsdienst e. V. (Abbreviation: REMID), Retrieved 3 January 2016
^ abAhmadiyya Muslim Mosques Around The World – A Pictorical Presentation. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; Khilafat Centenary Edition. 2008. ISBN978-1882494514.
^Hollup, Oddvar (1996). "Islamic Revivalism and Political Opposition among Minority Muslims in Mauritius". Ethnology. 35 (4): 285–300. doi:10.2307/3773871. JSTOR3773871.
