Today, countries to the north of the region such as Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali and Niger are predominantly Muslim. The Islam they practiced, however, would not be recognized by the purists it combined Islamic beliefs and aspects of traditional African religions. It was not until the Middle Ages that Islam really began to flourish with the conversion of some of West AfricaвЂ™s most powerful rulers. They were valued also for the literacy they brought, which African rulers quickly discovered could help them administer their kingdoms. The Muslim merchants brought trade and goods to exchange for gold and facilitated trade by introducing concepts such as contract law and credit arrangements. Census Bureau: International Database.- Islam arrived in sub-Saharan West Africa as early as the 8th century, travelling with Arab traders from North Africa. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. ) CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011 CIA World Factbook, 22 August 2006 Wikipedia: Importance of religion by country (Countries) ДЈ1 December 2004 ДЈ1 December 2004. The Future of the Global Muslim Population. State Department - 2002 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide British Broadcasting Corporation 2014 Wikipedia: Islam by country (Table) ( 'Muslim Population by Country'. Wikipedia: Buddhism by country Wikipedia: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France (Membership Statistics) Wikipedia: Protestantism by country (Top sixty countries by number and percentage of Protestants) International Religious Freedom Report 2004, U.S. Seventh-day Adventist Membership per 1000

Population considering religion unimportant Population considering religion important Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.Д¬hristian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20% Membership is defined as baptised and active. This entry lists Seventh-day Adventist membership worldwide as of 2004.

Seventh-day Adventist Membership per 1000:.

The survey was carried out within theВ Gallup Poll. Percentage of population who says religion is not important in their daily lives. Secularism and atheism > Population considering religion unimportant:.(Other possible answers were вЂњnoвЂќ, вЂњdonвЂ™t knowвЂќ and вЂњrefuse to answerвЂќ). Percentage of population surveyed in a Gallup Poll who answered the question вЂњIs religion important in your daily life?вЂќ with вЂњyesвЂќ. Secularism and atheism > Population considering religion important:.This entry includes a rank ordering of religions by adherents starting with the largest group and sometimes includes the percent of total population. Muslim percentage (%) of total population 2014 Pew Report. Muslim > Muslim percentage of total population:.No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval. Christian > Protestant > Protestant percent:.Buddhism > By Country > Buddhism > Buddhist total:.

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