Muslim men pray in Dearborn, Michigan in 2011. Pew estimates the size of the Muslim community in the U.S. will double by 2050, from one to 2.1 percent of the population. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

(CNSNews.com) – By the middle of this century, the number of Muslims worldwide will roughly equal those of Christians and by the century’s end will exceed them, making Islam the world’s largest religion.

That’s according to projections in a new analysis by the Pew Research Center, which identifies Islam as the world’s fastest-growing religion, owing to higher fertility rates and the fact Muslims have the youngest median age of all religious groups.

In 2010, 1.6 billion Muslims accounted for 23.2 percent of the total world population; Pew says that proportion could grow to 29.7 percent by 2050, and to 34.9 percent by 2100.

By contrast Christians comprised 31.4 percent of the population in 2010, and will account for about 33.8 percent in 2100, Pew projects.

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