Gallup poll: 59% of the world population believes in God

Read results on WIN-Gallup International site here

According to the poll, 59% of the world’s population describes itself as religious, 23% as non religious and only 13% as atheist. Most of the atheists come from East Asia, where 47% of the Chinese and 31% of the Japanese define themselves as atheist. 14% of the population of West Europe also defines itself as atheist.

Pollsters asked the same question of people in 57 nations: "Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say that you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?"

According to the survey, the following are the world's top atheist nations as measured by percentage of population:

•China: 47 percent
•Japan: 31 percent
•Czech Republic: 30 percent
•France: 29 percent
•South Korea: 31 percent
•Germany: 15 percent
•Netherlands: 14 percent
•Austria: 10 percent
•Iceland: 10 percent
•Australia: 10 percent
•Ireland: 10 percent

The WIN-Gallup International poll found that these are the most religious nations, again as measured by percentage of population:

•Ghana: 96 percent
•Nigeria: 93 percent
•Armenia: 92 percent
•Fiji: 92 percent
•Macedonia: 90 percent
•Romania: 89 percent
•Iraq: 88 percent
•Kenya: 88 percent
•Peru: 86 percent
•Brazil: 85 percent

All but Iraq are societies in which Christianity is the dominant religious tradition. Two are traditionally Catholic nations (Peru and Brazil), three are traditionally Orthodox (Armenia, Macedonia and Romania), and the rest are mixed among a variety of Christian confessions, though Catholicism is a significant presence, as in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.

The survey also asked people if they identify with a religious tradition, regardless of whether they're personally "religious." The percentages in major traditions who said they're also "religious" are as follows:

•Hindus: 82 percent
•Christians: 81 percent
•Muslims: 74 percent
•Jews: 38 percent