Overestimating Muslim populations

Ipsos MORI’s “Perils of Perception Survey 2016” finds that many countries overestimate their Muslim population by a staggering amount

Out of every 100 people in your country, how many do you think are Muslim?

Percentage difference
France 24 South Africa 20 Germany 16 Belgium 16 U.S. 16 Russia 14 Canada 14 India 14 Netherlands 13 Brazil  12 Spain 12 Denmark 11 UK 10 Australia 10 Norway 8 Mexico 8 Poland 7 Hungary 6

Average guess 31 22 21 23 17 24 17 28 19 12 14 15 15 12 12 8 7 6

Actual 7.5 1.7 5.0 7.0 1.0 10.0 3.2 14.2 6.0 0.1 2.1
4.1 4.8 2.4 3.7 0.1 0.1 0.1

27,250 interviews were conducted in 40 countries between September 22 – November 6, 2016

Source: Ipsos MORI
Picture: Associated Press