The world's prayer clock
Prayer follows a distinct rhythm in many traditions — dawn, midday, sunset, and night are recurring focal points across several major religions, rather than a single daily peak the way meals or sleep have. The live figure above models a stylized version of that four-peak pattern, applied per time zone and weighted by population, though it doesn't capture how dramatically actual practice varies by country and religion.
14 of 35
countries surveyed where a majority of adults pray daily
96%
daily prayer rate in Afghanistan, the highest surveyed
~66%
of Swedish adults who say they never pray, the lowest surveyed
How we estimate this
Unlike most pages on this site, prayer frequency doesn't have a clean, universally agreed rate to model as a live counter — there's no equivalent to a birth rate or a calorie supply figure. The live map instead applies a stylized four-peak daily curve (dawn, midday, sunset, night) to population by time zone. The real substance on this page is Pew Research Center's 2023–24 survey data across 35 countries, representing about half the world's population — the most rigorous cross-country measurement of prayer frequency available, though it necessarily excludes some large countries, including China, where reliable survey data wasn't available.
Where daily prayer is most common
Daily prayer is overwhelmingly a pattern of the Global South and Muslim-majority countries. Afghanistan (96%) and Indonesia (95%) top Pew's survey, followed closely by Nigeria and Kenya (84% each), Malaysia (80%), and the Philippines (79%). India, with a large Hindu-majority population, reports 75% daily prayer — while neighboring Vietnam sits at just 14% and China at 1%. In nearly every country with enough Muslims to analyze separately, Muslim respondents pray daily at higher rates than other religious groups in the same country — a pattern consistent with prayer being one of Islam's Five Pillars.
The wealth-prayer connection
Pew's own analysis found a striking pattern: in every country surveyed where at least 70% of adults say they pray daily, per-capita GDP sits under $20,000. The relationship runs in both directions — as countries grow wealthier, reported religious commitment (prayer, worship attendance, and stated importance of religion) tends to decline, though correlation here doesn't establish which factor drives the other, and plenty of individual counterexamples exist.
Why the West prays less, and who still does
Six European countries, along with Australia, have half or more of adults saying they never pray, and Sweden is the least prayerful country surveyed — about two-thirds of Swedish adults report never praying. The United States is the clear outlier among wealthy nations: 44% of Americans pray daily, more than double Canada's 25% and well above most of Western Europe. Within countries, prayer also varies by gender and age — women pray more often than men in most places surveyed (roughly twice as often in Italy), and adults 50 and older consistently pray more than those 18 to 34.
Frequently asked questions
How many people pray every day?
In 14 of the 35 countries Pew Research surveyed, a majority of adults pray at least once a day, with rates as high as 95–96% in Indonesia and Afghanistan.
Which country prays the most?
Afghanistan has the highest reported daily prayer rate at 96%, followed closely by Indonesia at 95%. Nigeria and Kenya both report 84%.
Why do wealthier countries pray less?
Pew Research found prayer rates correlate strongly with national wealth — in every country surveyed with 70%+ daily prayer, per-capita GDP is under $20,000.
Which country prays the least?
Sweden reports the lowest daily prayer rate among countries surveyed, with about two-thirds of Swedish adults saying they never pray.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, How Spiritual and Religious Practices Vary Globally in 36 Countries (2025)
- Pew Research Center, Religious Commitment by Country and Age
- Where Daily Prayer Is Most Common, Statista, compiling Pew survey data