According to the Washington-based Pew Research Centre, Islam will overtake Christianity to become the world's most popular religion by 2070. Researchers say migration is among factors helping to increase the Muslim population in some regions, including North America and Europe. According to the research, Islam which is the fastest growing religion currently has 1.6 billion adherents, about 23% of the world's population while Christians number 2.2 billion which is 31% of the global population.

The research claims Muslims are having more children than members of other religious groups with each woman having an average of 3.1 offspring compared to 2.3 for all other groups combined.

The report says:

'While it does not change the global population, migration is helping to increase the Muslim population in some regions, including North America and Europe.'

According to the study, America's Muslims number 3.3 million which is about 1% of the population but that figure is expected to rise to 2.1% by 2050 while India will overtake Indonesia as the country with the world's largest Muslim population.