The Global Divide on Life After Death

What happens after we die? It's one of the oldest questions humans have ever asked. Researchers surveyed over 200,000 people across 22 countries to find out who believes in life after death and what traits they share.

It is not age or gender but regular attendance at religious services that most powerfully predicts belief in life after death.

The answers varied enormously. In Indonesia, 95% of people said yes, they believe in life after death. In Japan, only 21% did. Nigeria, Kenya, and Turkey also had high rates of belief, while Sweden, Germany, and Australia sat near the bottom.

The single strongest factor was how often someone attended religious services. People who went to services at least once a week were far more likely to believe in an afterlife — about 73% said yes — compared to just 38% of those who never attended. Other factors like gender, education, marital status, and employment showed much smaller differences when averaged across all countries. Age had a mild pattern: belief rose slightly through middle age, dipped a bit, then jumped to 75% among people aged 80 and older, though this oldest group was small and varied a lot from country to country. Interestingly, when people were allowed to say they were "unsure" rather than just yes or no, many more leaned toward belief.

In Japan, nearly half of respondents picked "unsure," suggesting that even in secular societies, the question of what comes after death remains unsettled for many. The study also found that in some countries, being religious mattered more than in others. In secular nations like Sweden, the gap between religious and non-religious people was wide. But in South Africa, even people with no religion believed at rates similar to Christians. This suggests that belief in life after death is shaped not just by personal habits but by the cultural and religious landscape of each country.