What percentage of people are atheists?

Answer

Out of the world's 6.6 billion-odd people, about 1.1 billion are atheists, so one in every six people is an atheist. However, it is important to note that only 23% of the category defined as "atheists" fall into the category of "strong atheism". The remainder are "Weak atheists". Weak atheists simply state that they do not believe in a God, but they can not confirm in existence or lack thereof. Strong atheists say that God does not and can not exist and treat this as fact rather than belief. Agnostics, humanists, rationalists, and others would be classified as "weak atheists", so, depending on what you believe to be atheism, the number can vary. Hope this helped.

Comment

I wonder how reliable statistics about this really are. For example, is it really possible to research this properly in China? In addition to 'weak atheists', there are also many 'weak believers', so the situation is less clear than might seem to be the case.

Moreover, one also needs to know what kinds of questions (or questionnaires) were asked (or used), in other words what options were offered. If people say only that they they 'believe there is some sort of spirit or life force' (see link below) I don't know how one should classify them. They may be 'weak theists' or 'residual believers', by which I mean people who to all practical intents and purpose have no faith but don't want to reject it outright.

First answer by ID3480742269. Last edit by Joncey. Contributor trust: 1754 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 25 [recommend question]