VIDEO - An extensive survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has found that the worldwide Jewish community numbers some 14 million, which equates to 0.2% of the overall global population, a figure dwarfed by the Muslim community of 1.6 billion.
Fifty-nine percent of Jewish people in the world also live in countries where they are a minority group, compared to just 3% of Hindus, 13% of Christians and 27% of adherents to Islam.
Judaism faces the additional pressure of its followers having the highest average age – at 36 years old – which is eight years higher than the global average and 13 above the figure for Islam, meaning that the Jewish population is likely to have the lowest growth forecasts for the years to come.
According to the Pew Forum, of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion, some 5.8 billion hold some form of association to a recognized religion, while 16% state that they are not affiliated with any faith.