The distribution of Muslims is completely different from what many people think.

There are quite a few who assume the Middle East is the center, but in reality, the largest Muslim communities are concentrated in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Looking at the 2025 data from the Pew Research Center, Indonesia has by far the largest population with over 42M.
This is overwhelmingly more than any other country.
Next are Pakistan with 235 million and India with 213 million.
Bangladesh also has 150 million, meaning nearly half of the world's Muslims live in this region alone.

What's interesting is that the story changes when looking at population ratios.
Some countries have almost everyone Muslim—Pakistan at 96%, Iran at 99.8%, Afghanistan at 99.7%.
Meanwhile, in India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, only about 15% are Muslim.
But in absolute numbers, it exceeds 200 million, so even among countries with many Muslims, India ranks high.

Africa shouldn't be overlooked either.
Nigeria has 13M, Egypt 104 million, Sudan 46 million—there's a significant Muslim community from North Africa to West Africa.

Looking at these statistics, it feels like the global religious and cultural influence is more complex than geopolitical imagination suggests.
Understanding the distribution of countries with large Muslim populations makes the world's economic, political, and cultural movements appear more three-dimensional.