Indonesia is home to more Muslims than any other country, but it also has a large population of Christians. The country’s religious pluralism is again in the spotlight following the recent election of Prabowo Subianto as president. Prabowo has previously received support from religiously conservative Muslim groups.
As the Prabowo era begins, here are five facts about Muslims and Christians in Indonesia, based on Indonesian government statistics, recent Pew Research Center studies and other sources.
How we did this
Indonesia is about 87% Muslim and 11% Christian. Roughly 242 million Muslims and 29 million Christians live in Indonesia, according to data released by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in 2022. The remaining Indonesians mostly identify as Hindu, Buddhist or Confucian.
Indonesia’s Christians are scattered and make up majorities in many of the country’s least populous provinces. For example, the six provinces on the island of Papua in the far east of Indonesia hold 2% of the country’s overall population but 15% of its Christian population. While Christians make up a relatively small share of Indonesia’s population, they account for a larger percentage of elected officials. About 15% of representatives to the House of Representatives, known as the DPR, are Christian, according to official government profiles from 2023.
Muslims and Christians in Indonesia disagree over Islam’s importance to Indonesian identity. An overwhelming majority of Muslims (86%) say it is very important to be Muslim to be truly Indonesian, according to our 2022 survey of South and Southeast Asia. In contrast, 21% of Christians say being Muslim is key to being truly Indonesian. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Muslims also favor making sharia the official law of the land. (For more on religion and national identity around the world, read “Language and Traditions Are Considered Central to National Identity.”)
A Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice: 