Page 134 - History of Christianity - Student Textbook

Explosion of Christianity in Africa, 1950-60

In the twentieth century, Christianity in Africa exploded from an estimated population of eight or nine million in
1900 (8 to 9%) to some 335 million in 2000 (45%), marking a shift in the “center of gravity of Christianity” from
the West to Latin America, parts of Asia and Africa.

At the turn of the 20th century, Christianity was virtually nonexistent in many parts of Africa but is now the faith
of the majority, as the following figures demonstrate:

% Christians in 1900 % Christians in 2000
Congo-Zaire 1.4% 95.4%
Angola 0.6% 94.1%
Swaziland 1.0% 86.9%
Zambia 0.3% 82.4%
Kenya 0.2% 79.3%
Malawi 1.8% 76.8%

Other African countries with a significant Christian population are:
Seychelles 96.9%
Saint Helena 96.2%
Sao Tomé & Principe 95.8%
Cape Verde Islands 95.1%
Namibia 92.3%
Burundi 91.7%
Congo-Brazzaville 91.2%
Lesotho 91%
Gabon 90.6%
Uganda 88.7%
South Africa 83.1%
Rwanda 82.7%
Spanish North Africa 80.3%
Equatorial Guinea 76.6%
Central African Republic 67.8%
Zimbabwe 67.5%
Botswana 59.9%
Cameroon 54.2%
Ethiopia 57.7%
Ghana 55.4%
Eritrea 50.5%
Tanzania 50.4%
Madagascar 49.5%
Nigeria 45.9%
Togo 42.6%

The African Story: Amazing Growth, Unthinkable Persecution

In the 20th century alone, there have been some 1.8 million Christian martyrs in Africa. This figure does not take
into account the estimated 600,000 Christians who have died in the genocidal conflicts in Rwanda and Burundi,
nor does it fully account for the more than two million deaths in the 17 years of Sudanese civil war waged by the
militant Islamist government on the predominantly Christian population of the south.

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