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Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament, landlocked between Switzerland and Austria. The estimated population is 38,200 in 2021.1 According to the 2015 census, 73.4% of the population of Liechtenstein is Catholic, 6.3% is Protestant and 5.9% is Muslim.2 World Atlas records in 2019 report that the religious […]

Germany, a federal parliamentary republic and a nation of 83.2 million, has a federal constitution and consists of 16 constituent states. Constitution and government The Constitution (Grundgesetz, the Basic Law) and other laws and policies both protect and respect freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of […]

In France, the dominant religion is Catholicism but the state is strongly secular. Freedom of religion or belief is supported but its importance is secondary to the freedom and rights of all citizens and public order and morality. France suffered two terrorist attacks in 2015: first in January against the […]

Belgium, a nation of 11.3 million, has a federal constitution with three levels of power. The Communities (French, Flemish, German), the Regions (Walloon, Flanders, Brussels) and the Federal State each have their own responsibilities, mandates and scope. It is believed that over 40% of Belgium’s population identify as non-believers/agnostics (no […]

Austria is a democratic Republic with an elected Federal President and a Democratic parliament. Following Presidential Elections in October 2022, Alexander Van der Bellen was re-elected for President on a 56.7% majority.1 He is a member of the Greens Party, which advocates for environmentalism and equal social justice.2 According to […]

Spain is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament. Its modern history has been marked by the 1936-39 civil war followed by a long period of dictatorship under General Franco until his death in 1975. The country subsequently transitioned to democracy and became part of the European Union in 1986.1 […]

Slovenia is a parliamentary democracy located on the Adriatic Sea, a member of the European Union and Nato. Prior to 1991, Slovenia was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – which included Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – and was under communist rule for […]

Serbia is a land-locked country located in the west-central Balkans. In 2006, Serbia became a stand-alone sovereign republic, marking the final separation of the six states that had previously made up the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Serbia has never recognized Kosovo’s independence […]

San Marino is a microstate encircled by Italy. Whilst the government does not collect statistics on religious demographics, the authorities report that the vast majority of the population is Roman Catholic. Other religious groups are reported to include, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baha’is, Muslims, Jews, Orthodox Christians, and members of the Waldensian […]

Portugal, located on the south-western edge of the European continent, became a republic in 1910, but was soon controlled by an authoritarian one-party regime for almost half a century. Democracy returned to the country in 1974 and a new Constitution was adopted two years later.1 Portugal has been a member […]

Montenegro is – in terms of both its size and population – one of the smallest European states. After the collapse of the Yugoslav federation in 1989,1 Montenegro remained a part of a smaller Federal Republic of Yugoslavia but voted in a referendum of 1992 in favour of federation with […]

Malta is a small, densely-populated, nation in the Mediterranean, south of Sicily and north of Libya. It gained independence from the UK in 1964 and became a parliamentary republic in 1974. An estimated 544,000 people live on the three islands that make up the archipelago.1 Despite the increasing ethnic diversity […]

Lying in the center of the Balkan Peninsula, the Republic of North Macedonia is a parliamentary democracy,1 and an independent state since 1991 (previously part of Yugoslavia). The country has a multi-party democratic system, and is officially a secular state. Experiencing a name change after a parliamentary vote in 2019, […]

Kosovo is a multi-party democratic republic bordered by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. Kosovo became a UN protectorate following the Kosovo War of 1999 with prolonged tensions and violence between its Albanian and Serb populations. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Serbia continues to […]

Greece is a unitary parliamentary republic on the edge of the Balkan Peninsula, often regarded as the birthplace of democracy in Europe and a catalyst to western civilisation. The country has seen steady economic, social and legal changes in recent years with leftist government attempts towards secularisation of the country. […]

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska), is a unitary, indivisible democratic, social, and parliamentary constitutional republic. After Croatia formally declared its independence and dissolved its association with Yugoslavia in 1991, the Croatian War of Independence started. The war ended in 1995. The present day borders of Croatia […]

Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in 1992, although the State is still subject to a degree of international oversight under the terms of the 1995 Dayton Accords which marked the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian war and the break up of the former Yugoslavia.1 Religious, ethnic, and national identity are […]

Andorra is a co-Principality with a democratic parliamentary system. The President of France and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell are co-princes of Andorra, who hold honorary positions as heads of state.1 With a population of 78,000,2 Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion in the country and benefits from a privileged […]

Albania is a constitutionally secular country in the western Balkans with a population of 2.8 million people.1 According to the 2011 census, the religious demography of the country constitutes a Muslim majority (56.7%), Roman Catholic (10%), and Albanian Orthodox (6.8%). The same census data lists 2.5% of the population as […]

The United Kingdom (UK) is a constitutional monarchy comprising Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland, with a total population of about 64 million people. England with the largest population, 53 million, is home to a bi-cameral UK parliament which has devolved a range of powers to the […]

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Sweden is a member of the EU and the UN but has declined NATO membership. The country has a social welfare system providing education and health care to all its citizens and ranks very highly on the UN Human Development Report. […]

Norway is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy of about 5.4 million inhabitants, bordering its Nordic neighbors Sweden and Finland, as well as Russia. Norway is rated as having the second highest Human Development Index (HDI) in the world, according to the most recent data published in 2023.1 Constitution and government Freedom […]

Lithuania, a country in north-eastern Europe, is a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. In March 1990, it declared independence from the Soviet Union.1 The country is a member of the EU, and NATO. According to a population census conducted in 2011, the majority (77%) of the population […]

Latvia is a parliamentary republic, and member of the European Union, with close likes to Estonia and Lithuania.  It has a substantial Russian-speaking population. It has a population of 1.9 million, 31% of whom are unaffiliated with any religious group. The largest religious group, estimated to account for 37% of […]

Ireland is a Republic of about 4.9 million people. It covers about five-sixths of the geographical island of Ireland. In 1922 it achieved de facto independence from the UK, and became the mostly-Catholic Irish Free State. The rest of the island remained within the UK, and became the mostly-Protestant Northern […]

Located in the North Atlantic, Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. It is a multi-party parliamentary democracy. Constitution and government The Constitution1 and other laws and policies protect freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of expression, assembly and association. However, Article 62 of […]

The Republic of Finland is a Nordic country with a population of just less than 5.5 million people.  Finland was once part of Sweden and then the Russian Empire until it declared independence in 1917 in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution. The country is a constitutional republic with a […]

Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Estonia has developed a stable, functioning democracy. Political rights and civil liberties are widely respected as the country scores well on international measures of fundamental freedoms.1 The population is estimated to be 1.2 million, only 29% expressed religious affiliation in the most […]

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. The Kingdom of Denmark encompasses Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. Constitution and government The Constitution1 and other laws and policies protect freedom of religion or belief, as well as freedom of expression, association […]

Ukraine became a fully independent sovereign state in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. By area i tis the largest country entirely within Europe, and has a population of around 41 million.1 The majority of Ukrainians consider themselves believers (61.7%), 2.5% are atheists, the number of non-believers slightly […]

Slovakia is a democratic republic with a multi-party parliamentary system. After the 1989 collapse of Communism, the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993 meant that Slovakia became an independent state. It is now a member of the EU and NATO. The population of around 5.4 million people is predominantly Catholic. Just […]

The Russian Federation is the world’s largest country by land area. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has struggled to maintain its commitments to human rights conventions and its Constitution. The Russian Federation is a multi-religious nation, with roughly 71% of the population identifying as Orthodox […]

Romania is a semi-presidential republic with a multi-party system, a member of the EU and NATO. The law forbids public authorities from asking individuals to specify their religion, except for the census. According to the 2021 census,1 16.3 million of the country’s 19 million population chose to answer questions on […]

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious organization in Poland and maintains considerable influence in social and political life. In 1993, it was granted special recognition by the Polish state as per a Concordat with the Holy See. Recent developments have seen new propositions by the government to impose […]

With a population of just over four million, Moldova is a parliamentary republic nestled between Romania and Ukraine. Constitution and government According to the Constitution, there is no State religion in Moldova. Article 10 of the Constitution provides for equal treatment for all citizens regardless of religion, and Article 31 […]

Hungary is often said to be pulled culturally, socially and politically between “East” and “West.” Hungary’s modern constitutional parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1989, following a long history of varying authoritarian regimes including 40 years of communist dictatorship. In the first 20 years, democratic institutions were set up and improved […]

The Czech Republic, or Czechia, is a constitutionally secular state. Beneath the secular surface, however, there are a number of systemic privileges and special permissions granted to religious groups. According to the 2021 Census,1 48% of the population are non-religious. 22% of the population identify as religious, of which 59% […]

The Republic of Bulgaria is a democratic sovereign state in southeastern Europe with a population of 7.5 million and bordered by Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and the Black Sea. The Constitution guarantees “the life, dignity and rights of the individual and shall create conditions conducive to the free development […]

Belarus, a former soviet republic, attained independence in 1991. Belarus’ ties with Russia influence both its economic and political direction. President Lukashenko is often dubbed “Europe’s last dictator”. He has been in power since 1994. In August 2020, the largest protests in the country’s history began to demand Lukashenko’s departure after […]

Islam is the official state religion of Yemen and the Constitution states that Islamic law is the source of all legislation.1 Freedoms of religion, speech and the press are all severely restricted. Yemen has been devastated since March 2015 in a war between Houthi separatist rebels who took control of […]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven states formed in 1971. It is governed by a Supreme Council of Rulers made up of the seven emirs, who appoint the prime minister and the cabinet. Islam is the country’s official religion. The UAE is a member of the […]

The Syrian Arab Republic is a multi-ethnic nation (predominantly Arabs, Kurds, Circassians, Chechens, and Turkomans), which was around 75% Sunni, 10% Shia, and the remainder mainly a mix of other Muslim, Christian and other religious groups.1 Many of these groups have been disrupted and displaced in conflict in recent years. […]

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state governed by an absolute monarchy in tandem with a powerful religious elite. Laws, society, and politics are based on tribal traditions, religion, and the Wahhabi interpretation of Sharia.1 The population is estimated at 34.2 million. Estimates from 2019 indicated that approximately […]

Qatar is an oil-rich nation on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It has been ruled by an absolute monarch (the Emir) since its independence in 1971.1 The Emir holds all executive and legislative powers. Qatar’s population is approximately 2.4 million, only 12% of which are citizens of Qatar. […]

The geographic boundaries and political status of Palestine have changed throughout history. Since 1967, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip have been regarded by the United Nations (UN) as the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The West Bank borders Jordan, while the Gaza Strip is on the […]

The Sultanate of Oman is an absolute monarchy with a population of 4.5 million people as of 2021,1 of which only 56-60% are citizens.2 45% of citizens are Sunni Muslims and another 45% are Ibadi Muslims,3 a branch distinct from both Shia and Sunni Islam. Approximately 5% of the population […]

Lebanon sits on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean and is bordered by Israel to the south and Syria to the north and east. Its location has placed it at the center of Middle Eastern conflicts.1 The country has a population of 5.8 million people.2 It is host to the […]

Kuwait is a small emirate located in the North-western corner of the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Nomadic tribes from Central Arabia settled in the bay of Kuwait City in the 1700s. Among them was the Al-Sabah family whose descendants now rule the country. In 1756, Kuwait became […]

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a sovereign state with a constitutional monarchy in western Asia with a total population of approximately 11,148 million.1 More than 90% of citizens are Sunni Muslims and there are small communities of Christians – predominantly Greek Orthodox – Shiites, Baha’i and Druzes.2 Jordan significantly […]

Iraq holds immense historical and geopolitical significance. Bordered by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Kuwait, it has been a focal point of events not only in the region but also on the global stage. Iraq is a member of the League of Arab States (LAS), as well as […]