Ten Countries with the Most Mosques in the World

VIVA – Islam is in second place with the most adherents at 1.8 billion. As known, Islam is also the majority religion in several countries such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and others. To carry out worship, people who adhere to the Islam religion will usually come to the mosque.

Therefore, the presence of a mosque is very important for Muslims to be able to worship five times a day. According to TRT World, there are 3.6 million mosques worldwide.

Meanwhile, based on Pew Research Center, the number of Muslims will increase. It is estimated that by 2025, the number of Muslims will grow to 2.76 billion, or 29.7 of the world's population. So, the number of mosque buildings will increase later. Well, here are the countries with the most mosques in the world, as quoted from various sources.

1. Indonesia

Indonesia is a country that has many mosques in the world, with approximately 800,000 mosque buildings. The five provinces with the most mosques are Lampung (12,000 mosques), South Sulawesi (14,313 mosques), East Java (48,947 mosques), Central Java (50,549 mosques), and West Java (58,979 mosques).

2. India

India may be identical to Hinduism, but as it turns out, the country has around 300,000 mosques spread across the country. In fact, this large number is not enough to fulfill the needs of Muslim places of worship there because, in India, Islam is the second most believed religion.

3. Bangladesh

Bangladesh is the eighth most population in the world. Bangladesh has around 250,000 mosques as places of worship for the majority of its Muslim population.

4. Pakistan

Pakistan is a country located in South Asia and has around 120,000 mosques. This country has many mosques with beautiful architecture, one is the Faisal Mosque which was founded in 1987 in Islamabad. The country which conflicts with India is inhabited by 199 million people and 97% of them are Muslim.

5. Egypt

This country which is partly located on the African continent has around 108,000 mosques. Moreover, Indonesia has a special relationship with this country, because Egypt was the first country to recognize Indonesian Sovereignty on August 17, 1945. Al-Azhar University is also the center of Sunni studies. 

6. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a country located in Western Asia. Its territory covers almost all areas of the Arabian Peninsula. Riyadh is the capital of this country and has almost a hundred thousand mosques, 98,000 to be exact. This country is also the main destination of worship for Muslims around the world. 

7. Turkey

The Republic of Turkey is one of the founders of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which previously had a long history of the Islamic caliphate. Naturally, Turkey is one of the countries that have the largest number of mosques in the world, with approximately 82,000 mosques. One of the phenomenal mosques is Hagia Sophia, which was built in 537 AD. 

8. Iran

This Islamic Republic has 58,000 mosques. Iran is a Middle Eastern country that is better known as Persia by Western countries. Many mosques with magnificent architecture stand in Iran, such as the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan, Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah Mosque in Ardebil, to the Shah-e Cheragh Mosque in Shiraz.

9. Morocco

This parliamentary constitutional monarchy has around 51,000 mosques to accommodate its 33 million population. One of its largest and grandest mosques is the Hasan II Mosque which was built in 1980 in Casablanca, Morocco. Morocco is a North African country whose territory extends from the Mediterranean Sea. 

10. Yemen

Yemen is one of the countries with the largest number of mosques in the world. The war-torn country has around 50,000 mosques and supports religious activities there. The only replica country in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has quite a lot of mosques as places of worship for its 23 million inhabitants.