World Christian Database: field definitions

Data source: Gina A. Zurlo and Todd M. Johnson, eds., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2024).

Table Field Description
version_2020_people Agency note Names or initials of mission agencies working among this people group.
version_2020_people Agnostics Agnostic population for this people group in this country. These are persons professing no religion, or professing unbelief or non-belief, non-believers, agnostics, freethinkers, liberal thinkers, non-religious humanists, indifference to both religion and atheism, apathetic, opposed on principle neither to religion nor to atheism; sometimes termed secularists or materialists; also post-Christian, dechristianized or de-religionized populations.
version_2020_people Agnostics who know Christians Agnostics who know Christians.
version_2020_people Alien Christian code Code of alien Christians (Christians of another culture residing among this people group, 0-10): 10= Alien church members from 50% to 100% or more; 9= from 20 to under 50%; 8= 10 to 20%; 7= 5 to 10%; 6= 1% to 5%; 5=.1 to 1%; 4= an organized alien church with members from.05 to under.1%; 3= A small unorganized cluster of 2 or more alien churches; 2= A single alien congregation or worship center; 1= A few scattered alien believers, without congregations; 0= No Known Alien Believers on this Territory.
version_2020_people Atheists Atheist Population among this people group. Atheists are militantly anti-religious or anti-Christian agnostics, secularists, or marxists.
version_2020_people Audio code Numeric or Character code for availability of audio scriptures for this people group. 6/B = Audio scriptures purchasable: complete Bible; 5/A = Audio scriptures purchasable: New Testament; 4/a = Audio scriptures purchasable: gospels or other portions; 1/c = Audio/film materials, or audio scriptures in near-language; 0/. = No audio scriptures or selections available.
version_2020_people Autoglossonym Peoples own name for their language.
version_2020_people Baha'is Bahai population for this people group in this country. Bahais are followers of the Bahai World Faith, founded by Bahaullah, since 1844. In government censuses Bahais are usually counted as Muslims or Hindus and not shown separately.
version_2020_people Biblioglossonym The official name of the language for any Scripture translation done, or under way. 'Biblioglossonym' is the name chosen by a Bible society by which a translation of the Bible, or part of it, is formally known; often the anglicized form (e.g. French, German, Russian), often the speakers own autoglossonym (français, deutsch, russki).
version_2020_people Braille code 1 = Braille scriptures available for the blind.
version_2020_people Broadcast note Names or initials of radio broadcasters who have been or are beaming programs to this people group.
version_2020_people Buddhists Buddhist population for this people group in this country. Followers of the Buddha, include: (a) Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) or Northern Buddhism; (b) Theravada (Teaching of the Elders) or Southern Buddhism, stigmatized by Mahayanists as Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle, i.e. available to fewer people), actually the older, purer form of Buddhism; (c) Vajrayana, Mantrayana, Guhyamantrayana, or Tantrayana (Esoteric Vehicle), known as Tantrism, Shingon or Lamaism; and (d) traditional Buddhist sects, but excluding neo-Buddhist new religions or religious movements.
version_2020_people Buddhists who know Christians Buddhists who know Christians.
version_2020_people Chinese folk-religionists Chinese folk-religionists population for this people group in this country.
version_2020_people Christian broadcasting code Countries broadcasting Christian programs in this language (0-4) to this people group. 4= Available in major language; 3= Broadcasting from several countries; 2= Broadcasting from 1 or 2 countries; 1= Local broadcasts only or any broadcast in a same-cluster language; 0= none for this people group.
version_2020_people Christian growth rate 1900 to 2020 The average annual growth rate of the Christian population from 1900 to the base year 2020.
version_2020_people Christians Christian population for this people group in this country.
version_2020_people Christians 1900 Christians in this people group in 1900.
version_2020_people Christians who know Agnostics Christians who know Agnostics.
version_2020_people Christians who know Buddhists Christians who know Buddhists.
version_2020_people Christians who know Ethnic religionists Christians who know Ethnic religionists.
version_2020_people Christians who know Hindus Christians who know Hindus.
version_2020_people Christians who know Muslims Christians who know Muslims.
version_2020_people Christians who know non-Christians Christians who know non-Christians.
version_2020_people Confucianists Confucianist population for this people group in this country. Confucians are non-Chinese followers of Confucius and Confucianism; mostly Koreans and in Korea.
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Religions

Data on 18 categories of religion, including non-religious, by country, province, and people.

Countries and regions

Data on all religions, Christian activities, and trends.

Denominations

Membership data, year begun, and rates of change.

Cities & provinces

Population and religion data on all major cities & provinces.

Peoples & languages

Detailed information covering religion, culture, and geography.

Archive

A repository of historical data, including a chronology of Christianity from the 1st to 21st centuries.