10 Countries Where Daily Prayer Is Most Common

Prayer remains an important part of daily life for millions of people around the world. According to Pew Research Center, several countries have particularly high shares of adults who say they pray at least once a day.

Indonesia stands at the top, with 95% of adults reporting that they pray daily. The figure places the country among the societies where prayer is most widely practiced. Indonesia has a predominantly Muslim population, while also being home to significant Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and other religious communities.

Pew Research Center has likewise found that daily prayer is especially common in Indonesia compared with other countries surveyed in South and Southeast Asia.

Kenya and Nigeria follow, with 84% of adults in each country saying they pray at least once a day. Both countries have large Christian and Muslim populations, with religious practice playing an important role in everyday life. The high figures demonstrate the widespread presence of regular prayer across different religious traditions.

Malaysia ranks next at 80%. As a Muslim-majority country with substantial Buddhist, Christian and Hindu communities, Malaysia shows a high level of reported daily prayer. Pew's earlier research on South and Southeast Asia also found daily prayer to be particularly common in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Philippines follows with 79%, while Brazil records 76%. The Philippines is predominantly Christian, whereas Brazil has a large Christian population with both Catholic and Protestant communities. Pew's research shows that daily prayer is practiced by majorities in Brazil and several other Latin American countries.

Bangladesh comes next at 75%, followed by Ghana at 73%. Sri Lanka records 72%, while Colombia completes the group at 71%. These figures illustrate that high levels of daily prayer occur across different regions, including Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The data also show that frequent prayer is not limited to one particular continent or religious tradition. Pew Research Center notes that Muslims are often especially likely to report praying daily in countries with significant Muslim populations, while Christians and members of other faiths also report regular prayer in many societies.

Overall, these figures highlight the continuing importance of prayer in everyday life across diverse societies. Indonesia's 95% stands out, while Kenya, Nigeria, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, Bangladesh, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Colombia also report notably high levels of daily prayer.