Sri Lanka one of the most religious countries in the world

Monday, 17 April 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka is one of the five most religious countries in the world as 99% of Sri Lankans have agreed, according to a survey conducted by The Telegraph of the UK.

To mark the Easter weekend, The Telegraph has mapped the world’s most - and least - religious countries.

Their map was based on the results of three Gallup polls, taken in 2008, 2009 and 2015. Each asked respondents whether or not they felt religious. The Telegraph included the most recent figures available for each country.

According to the surveys, five countries tie for the title of most religious. In each of Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Sri Lanka and Yemen, 99% of those questioned answered ‘Yes’.

In Sri Lanka’s mostly Hindu neighbour India only 76% feel religious while in Muslim Pakistan 88% claim to be religious.

According to the map, the most religious regions are Africa and the Middle East, with south-east Asia and Latin America not far behind. Faith is important to many southern European countries too, with 74% of Italians and 71% of Greek claiming to feel religious.

Poland stands out against the rest of Europe, with 86% answering ‘Yes’ to the poll; Paraguay would appear to be South America’s most religious country.

Around three in 10 Britons feel religious, it suggests, compared to 56% of Americans.

The least religious countries, on the other hand, include Japan, Estonia, Sweden, Norway and the Czech Republic. China is the least religious with only 7%.