Muslims form a small but growing and strikingly diverse part of the population of the United States and Canada. Counting them is difficult: the United States census does not ask about religion, and Canada's does so only periodically, so figures rest on surveys and estimates. This article, part of our Muslim population data hub, gathers what the main sources suggest about the size, growth and diversity of Muslim communities in North America.
The United States
The Pew Research Center estimated that there were about 2.6 million Muslims of all ages in the United States in 2010, or roughly 0.8% of the population. In its study The Future of the Global Muslim Population, Pew projected that number would more than double, to around 6.2 million by 2030, driven by immigration and a younger age profile. Even then, Muslims would make up under 2% of Americans, roughly as numerous as Jews or Episcopalians are today. About two-thirds of American Muslims are first-generation immigrants, though a growing share is now born in the country.
Canada
Canada's Muslim community is proportionally larger. The 2011 National Household Survey counted about 1.05 million Muslims, some 3.2% of the population and an increase of more than 80% over 2001, making Islam one of the country's larger faith groups. It has grown further since. Muslim history in Canada runs deep: the first recorded Muslim was born there in 1854, and the country's first mosque, the Al-Rashid in Edmonton, opened in 1938. Today the community is overwhelmingly urban, with close to two-thirds living in the Toronto and Montreal areas.
A community of many origins
What stands out most in North America is diversity. In Canada, no single background dominates: according to the 2011 survey, South Asians (around 36%) are the largest group, followed by Arabs (about a quarter), West Asians and communities of African origin. American Islam is equally varied, drawing on South Asian, Arab, African American and many other roots. This mix means that a single mosque in Toronto, Chicago or Montreal may bring together worshippers from dozens of countries. The community is also young: Canadian Muslims had a median age of under 30 in 2011, well below the national average.
Growth and its limits
Both communities are growing mainly through immigration and a youthful age structure, the same forces described in our article on the future of the Muslim population. But growth is uneven and projections are only estimates, sensitive to shifts in migration policy. For the global context, and how North America compares with Europe, see Muslim population worldwide and Muslims in Europe. To see these communities as living places, you can United states in the directory or open the the interactive map.
Statistics capture size, not spirit. Behind the numbers are mosques from downtown Toronto to small-town America, each a community in its own right. Use MosqueFinder to find one near you.