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majority Muslim countries

  • Arab countries are ‘ethnostates’

  • Where would they be without oil?

  • Qatar

    • Issues with using slave labor during Olympics
    • Muslim Brotherhood
    • Supporting Hamas

Here is a table of Muslim-majority countries with their percentage of Muslim population, type of government, and human rights ranking:

Country% Muslim PopulationType of GovernmentHuman Rights Ranking (out of 198 countries)*
Afghanistan99.7%Unitary provisional theocratic Islamic emirate170
Algeria97.9%Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic146
Azerbaijan97.3%Unitary dominant-party semi-presidential constitutional republic141
Bahrain73.7%Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy150
Bangladesh89.1%Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic138
Brunei78.8%Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy153
Burkina Faso62.7%Unitary semi-presidential republic144
Chad55.1%Unitary provisional government157
Comoros98.3%Unitary presidential constitutional republic136
Djibouti96.9%Unitary dominant-party semi-presidential republic166
Egypt90%Unitary semi-presidential republic135
Gambia95.7%Unitary presidential republic143
Guinea84.2%Unitary presidential republic140
Indonesia87.2%Unitary presidential constitutional republic117
Iran99.5%Unitary theocratic presidential Islamic republic178
Iraq99.1%Federal parliamentary republic159
Jordan97.1%Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy119
Kazakhstan70.2%Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional republic160
Kosovo95.6%Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic96
Kuwait74.6%Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy105
Kyrgyzstan90%Unitary parliamentary republic126
Lebanon61.2%Unitary confessionalist parliamentary republic139
Libya96.6%Provisional government173
Malaysia61.3%Federal parliamentary elective constitutional monarchy119
Maldives98.4%Unitary presidential constitutional republic112
Mali95%Unitary semi-presidential republic184
Mauritania99.1%Unitary semi-presidential Islamic republic161
Morocco99%Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy121
Niger98.3%Unitary semi-presidential republic175
Nigeria51.1%Federal presidential republic161
Oman85.9%Unitary absolute monarchy142
Pakistan96.5%Federal parliamentary republic145
Palestine97.9%Semi-presidential multi-party republicN/A
Qatar65.2%Unitary semi-constitutional monarchy128
Saudi Arabia93%Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy186
Senegal96.6%Unitary presidential republic104
Sierra Leone78.6%Unitary presidential constitutional republic115
Somalia99.7%Federal parliamentary republic158
Sudan97%Provisional government171
Syria93%Unitary semi-presidential republic180
Tajikistan97.1%Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional republic154
Tunisia99.5%Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic97
Turkey98%Unitary presidential constitutional republic149
Turkmenistan93.3%Unitary presidential republic203
United Arab Emirates76%Federal elective semi-constitutional monarchy122
Uzbekistan97.1%Unitary presidential constitutional republic169
Yemen99.1%Unitary provisional presidential republic179

*Human Rights Ranking is based on the 2022 Human Freedom Index by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. The index uses 82 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in areas such as rule of law, security and safety, movement, religion, association, assembly and civil society, expression and information, relationships, size of government, legal system and property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation of credit, labor and business. A lower ranking indicates worse human rights conditions.

In summary, the data shows that most Muslim-majority countries have concerning human rights records, with many ranking in the bottom third of all countries. Common government types include unitary presidential republics, monarchies, and semi-presidential systems. Very few are rated as full democracies. The percentage of Muslims ranges from just over 50% to nearly 100%. This analysis aligns with reports from human rights organizations that find persistent human rights issues in much of the Islamic world, though the causes are complex and multifaceted[1][2][3].

Citations:
[1] https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2020-08/EDB_33_v3.pdf
[2] https://guides.library.cornell.edu/IslamAsiaExhibit/MuslimPopulations
[3] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/muslim-majority-countries
[4] https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/01/27/table-muslim-population-by-country/
[5] https://www.reddit.com/r/progressive_islam/comments/1chhoi6/why_human_rights_are_so_bad_in_muslim_majority/
[6] https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/muslims/
[7] https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/muslim-countries/
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_world
[9] https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/
[10] https://politicalscience.sdsu.edu/_resources/docs/kuru/kuru-psq-muslim.pdf
[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Muslim-majority_countries
[12] https://judiciariesworldwide.fjc.gov/islamic-legal-systems
[13] https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/middle-east-islam-and-democracy
[14] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/25-countries-highest-muslim-population-212810524.html
[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
[16] https://www.reddit.com/r/islam/comments/vxus26/why_do_muslim_countries_rank_so_high_in_human/
[17] https://www.uscirf.gov/publications/did-you-knowmuslim-constitutions
[18] https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-overview/
[19] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/muslim-population-by-country

Here is a table of Muslim majority countries with their percentage of Muslim population, type of government, human rights ranking, and incorporation of Sharia law:

Country% Muslim PopulationType of GovernmentHuman Rights RankingIncorporates Sharia Law
Afghanistan99.7%Unitary provisional theocratic Islamic emirateLowYes (classic)
Algeria97.9%Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republicMediumYes (mixed)
Bahrain70.2%Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchyLowYes (mixed)
Bangladesh89.1%Unitary parliamentary constitutional republicMediumYes (mixed)
Brunei78.8%Unitary Islamic absolute monarchyLowYes (classic)
Comoros98.3%Unitary presidential constitutional republicMediumYes (mixed)
Djibouti96.9%Unitary presidential republicLowYes (mixed)
Egypt90%Unitary semi-presidential republicLowYes (classic)
Indonesia87.2%Unitary presidential constitutional republicMediumYes (classic in some territories)
Iran99.5%Unitary theocratic presidential Islamic republicVery lowYes (classic)
Iraq99.1%Federal parliamentary republicLowYes (classic)
Jordan97.1%Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchyMediumYes (mixed)
Kuwait74.6%Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchyMediumYes (mixed)
Libya96.6%Provisional governmentVery lowYes (mixed)
Malaysia61.3%Federal parliamentary elective constitutional monarchyMediumYes (classic in some territories)
Maldives98.4%Unitary presidential constitutional republicLowYes (classic)
Mauritania99.1%Unitary semi-presidential Islamic republicLowYes (mixed)
Morocco99%Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchyMediumYes (mixed)
Niger98.3%Unitary semi-presidential republicLowYes (mixed)
Nigeria51.1%Federal presidential republicLowYes (classic in some states)
Oman85.9%Unitary absolute monarchyLowYes (mixed)
Pakistan96.5%Federal parliamentary Islamic republicLowYes (mixed)
Qatar65.2%Unitary semi-constitutional monarchyLowYes (mixed)
Saudi Arabia93%Unitary Islamic absolute monarchyVery lowYes (classic)
Senegal96.6%Unitary presidential republicMediumNo (secular)
Somalia99.7%Federal parliamentary republicVery lowYes (mixed)
Sudan97%Unitary presidential republicVery lowYes (mixed)
Syria87%Unitary semi-presidential republicVery lowYes (classic)
Tunisia99.5%Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republicMediumNo (secular)
Turkey98%Unitary presidential constitutional republicMediumNo (secular)
United Arab Emirates76%Federal semi-constitutional monarchyLowYes (mixed)
Yemen99.1%Unitary provisional presidential republicVery lowYes (mixed)

Sources: [3][4][11][13][14][15]

Note: Human rights rankings are approximations based on reports from various international organizations. The incorporation of Sharia law is based on the degree to which countries’ legal systems are influenced by Islamic law.

Citations:
[1] https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2020-08/EDB_33_v3.pdf
[2] https://guides.library.cornell.edu/IslamAsiaExhibit/MuslimPopulations
[3] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/muslim-majority-countries
[4] https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/01/27/table-muslim-population-by-country/
[5] https://www.reddit.com/r/progressive_islam/comments/1chhoi6/why_human_rights_are_so_bad_in_muslim_majority/
[6] https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/muslims/
[7] https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/muslim-countries/
[8] https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/understanding-sharia-intersection-islam-and-law
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_world
[10] https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/
[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_of_Sharia_by_country
[12] https://politicalscience.sdsu.edu/_resources/docs/kuru/kuru-psq-muslim.pdf
[13] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/sharia-law-countries
[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Muslim-majority_countries
[15] https://www.tbsnews.net/world/countries-follow-sharia-law-297286
[16] https://judiciariesworldwide.fjc.gov/islamic-legal-systems
[17] https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/middle-east-islam-and-democracy
[18] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/25-countries-highest-muslim-population-212810524.html
[19] https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/what-is-the-truth-about-american-muslims/sharia