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Orthodox Countries

Name the countries of the world that have the highest % of Orthodox Christians, according to Wikipedia.
Countries probably have different methodologies for including non-practicing people
Includes Oriental and Eastern orthodox. Source.
Quiz by bleumarine22
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Last updated: November 4, 2020
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First submittedJanuary 8, 2013
Times taken99,665
Average score71.4%
Rating4.89
4:00
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%
Country
97
Serbia
93
Moldova
93
Armenia
90
Greece
89
Cyprus
82
Georgia
81
Romania
%
Country
81
Montenegro
73
Belarus
72
Russia
71
Ukraine
70
North Macedonia
59
Bulgaria
54
Ethiopia
%
Country
47
Eritrea
31
Bosnia and Herzegovina
24
Kazakhstan
18
Latvia
17
Kyrgyzstan
15
Egypt
14
Estonia
93 Comments
+18
Level 46
Feb 1, 2013
Got all of them except Eritrea. I never knew there was such a high percentage of Orthodox Christians there.
+23
Level 81
Nov 10, 2015
yeah, the only reason I got them is because I remembered that they used to be part of Ethiopia until just recently (2000 or 2001)
+29
Level 62
Mar 18, 2016
1993.
+7
Level 69
Sep 4, 2017
Ethnically they are almost the same as Ethiopians.
+56
Level 76
Jun 23, 2018
Well, there are lots of ethnicities in Ethiopia. Tigrayan people are on each side of the border.
+5
Level 59
Dec 17, 2020
They got a bit of a secession crisis/civil war going on in Ethiopia now.
+12
Level 33
Jun 15, 2013
Never knew there were Orthodox Christians in Africa! Good quiz.
+42
Level 81
Feb 9, 2014
Aksum (Ethiopia/Eritrea) was one of the first Christian kingdoms in the world, beat out only by Armenia, I think.
+30
Level 37
Oct 27, 2014
This guy is probably right, his name is Kalbahamut after all.
+2
Level 59
Jul 5, 2016
Actually, Ethiopia became christian due to Byzantine influence.
+25
Level 81
Jul 8, 2016
Christianity became the state religion of Ethiopia the same year that

Constantinople was established and the Byzantine Empire became a thing. So... what are you talking about?

+2
Level 76
Jun 23, 2018
So, ryanyesman, the world would be a better place with more Christianity?
+13
Level 88
Nov 4, 2020
Armenia was first? I had Georgia on my mind.
+2
Level 56
Jun 9, 2022
I saw on wikipedia that Ethiopia was even Christian before the other countries because the religion spread there via Egypt before the Roman Empire accepted christianism
+5
Level 37
Jun 23, 2018
I believe the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are also known as Coptic.
+16
Level 83
Nov 4, 2020
No the Copts are Egyptian
+11
Level 45
Dec 17, 2020
That is because there aren't. Ethiopians and Eritreans are members of the so called "Oriental Orthodox" churches, which are completely separate from the Eastern Orthodox church. They just have a extremely confusing name in English. The Ethiopian and Eritrean church are closely related to the Coptic church of Egypt, and they split from the other churches of the Roman Empire after the Council of Chalcedon, in 451 AD. The Eastern Orthodox church remained a single church with the Catholic Church until 1054, well into the Middle Ages. So basically the Ethiopian Church has absolutely nothing to do with the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Russians and the Greeks. They diverged from each other well over 1500 years ago and have massive theological differences
+6
Level 86
Jul 28, 2013
Greek and Armenian Orthodox in Lebanon add up to at least 12%
+9
Level ∞
Feb 3, 2014
8% according to Wikipedia.
+16
Level 81
Feb 28, 2014
The Wiki article called "Religion in Lebanon" cites 21% Maronite, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Melkite Catholic, and 6.4% other Christian denominations like Armenian Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, and Protestant.

If 9% of Egypt is Orthodox then we must be counting Coptic Christians as Orthodox. Throw in the Syrians and Armenians and it seems likely that the total figure could be above 10%.

+5
Level 59
Jul 5, 2016
Albania has at least around 20% Orthodox Christians.
+4
Level 85
Nov 4, 2020
Albania is slightly majority Muslim. And it's biggest Christian sect is Roman Catholicism (~10%). There are minorities of Greeks and various Slavic communities, who are likely Orthodox. But they are a very small percentage. There has been controversy, though, with a recent census that some felt miscounted all of the religious communities.
+2
Level 30
Dec 15, 2020
Didn't realise most of the christians in Syria and Lebanon are Catholic and not Orthodox.
+3
Level 85
Dec 15, 2020
Yep. French Catholics and ancient Eastern Catholics outnumber the Orthodox in Lebanon. And Orthodox Christians are the majority of Christians in Syria but they are only about 10% of the population.
+2
Level 35
Feb 28, 2014
No China? :D JK
+8
Level 60
May 4, 2018
Fun fact: I actually attended an Orthodox church in China... on the grounds of the Russian embassy.
+1
Level 76
Jun 23, 2018
Saw one in Hakodate, Japan. Same sort of deal - Russian community once upon a time.
+7
Level 36
Jun 23, 2018
Not really a fun fact. More of an uninteresting anonymous anecdote.
+1
Level 78
Feb 28, 2014
Not my cup of tea...only got 5
+3
Level 18
May 19, 2014
I'm orthodox from Poland and only got 17.. got Eritrea and Ethiopia but missed Romania, Cyrpus and Bulgaria.. how on earth?!
+4
Level 68
Oct 6, 2015
19/20. Left out Bosnia because I knew it was Muslim majority....MAJORITY! Bah! 36% is definitely a minority, almost!
+4
Level 41
Jul 5, 2016
One third of Bosnia are Serbs, who are Orthodox, one third are Croatians, who are Catholic, and one third are Muslims.
+4
Level 55
Apr 12, 2020
51% are bosniak, the rest are split between the serbs and croats
+12
Level 66
Mar 1, 2016
This quiz MUST be modified. Christianity has in fact FIVE major divisions of denominations, and this quiz conflates two of them. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox, although having names meaning essentially the same thing in English, have very distinct liturgies, histories, organizations, and languages. (The others are Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Church of the East.) In the very least, the instructions must indicate that both Eastern and Oriental Orthodox populations are considered.

To give an analogical argument, this is like asking the Top X Ethnic Origins for U.S. Americans in a quiz, and conflating Scottish, English, and Irish because 'they're all from the British Isles.' Yes, they are cultural cousins, but they are not the same.

+4
Level ∞
Jun 6, 2016
Added a caveat
+3
Level 81
Jun 20, 2016
The source listed in the caveat links to a map that seems to indicate that there are more orthodox Christians (by this inclusive definition) in Lebanon and Syria than in Egypt... upholding some previous objections about the omission of Lebanon.
+2
Level 68
Oct 29, 2017
For Lebanon, in the chart it says 8%, but it says 851,000 Christian Orthodox. Lebanon does not have 10 million people. Shouldn't it be about 20% Orthodox in Lebanon?
+2
Level ∞
Feb 26, 2018
That's obviously a mistake on the Wikipedia page. As @kalbahamut posted above:

"A demographic study conducted by the research firm Statistics Lebanon found that approximately 27% of the population was Shia, 27% Sunni, 21% Maronite, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Druze, 5% Melkite, and 1% Protestant, with the remaining 6% mostly belonging to smaller non-native to Lebanon Christian denominations.[179]"

+4
Level 44
Nov 15, 2020
This was a demographics study done by a Shia Muslim meaning they are biased towards the Shia and Muslim population as a whole-hence the 54% Muslim population raising it while dropping the Christian and Druze. The one done on the general population (by a Sunni) and is unbiased is: 33% Maronite, 23% Sunni, 14% Shia, 10% Greek Orthodox, 6% Druze, 6% Melkite Catholic, 6% Armenian Orthodox and 2% other Christians. Meaning, it's 57% Christian (40% Catholic, 17% Orthodox), 6% Druze, 37% Muslim (23% Sunni and 14% Shia). Just a note :)
+2
Level 71
Feb 15, 2020
The same? I am! English, Irish and Scottish are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
+1
Level 48
Oct 26, 2020
I was thinking the same.
+1
Level 46
Jul 5, 2016
Great quiz. I got 15. I would have gotten 16 if I knew how to spell Kazakhstan, LOL
+2
Level 57
Jul 5, 2016
It's really silly that people get all up in arms about the information in quizzes on an online quiz site. "Actually, so-and-so has more Orthodox…" "Actually, if you look at wiki, or this one specific map that I link to here, you'll see…" "How can Syria and Lebanon not be on here? If you look at such and such…" Blah, blah, blah...

First of all, the quizzes on this site are supposed to be FUN, not scholarly research projects (though striving for some accuracy should be encouraged).

BUT, if you're basing your quizzes on wikipedia, which true scholars NEVER use as the basis of their projects because ANYONE can edit them, then there are bound to be errors or incongruities. If a quiz states that its info is based on a wiki page, then quiz-taker beware: it may not be 100% accurate, according to certain sources, but it will still be a very fun, interesting quiz!

+6
Level 81
Jul 6, 2016
never ceases to amaze me the long-winded comments people leave complaining about other people making comments or complaints.

Quizzes are most fun when they are accurate. If you find a mistake on any of my quizzes, please point it out so I can correct it. This will make it more fun for those taking the quiz and save me some embarrassment, too.

+9
Level ∞
Feb 26, 2018
But this quiz is accurate. Or, at least as accurate as is possible. What gets me riled up is the endless complaints that are simply wrong and that could be easily resolved by doing a Google search or by visiting Wikipedia.

Our quizzes post their sources. Is it too much to expect for complainers to do the same?

+3
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
Those annoy me, too, QM, but that's not what komrad was taking issue with. If complaints in the comments section bother someone so much it seems weird that they would lead long complaints in the comments section complaining about complaints in the comments section.
+3
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
and some confusion about Syria and Lebanon being absent was warranted, as I pointed out, along with my source. If Egypt is on this quiz, then, going by the same source listed, Syria and Lebanon ought to be, as well. In Egypt's case they're throwing in Egyptian Coptic Christians, but in Syria and Lebanon they're using a different, less inclusive standard for "orthodox." If they grouped all the various traditions together like they did in Egypt then the numbers would be higher in Syria and Lebanon. The 8% figure for Orthodox in Lebanon, for example, only includes Greek Orthodox. If you count Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, and Copts (and why wouldn't you, as these groups are included in other countries) then the figure for total Orthodox Christians in Lebanon jumps above 10%
+2
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
source

which lists 4 different surveys with slightly different sets of data suggesting that between 9% and 13% of the population of Lebanon are Orthodox Christian, by the broad definition used in the source linked at the top of the page, including 8% Greek Orthodox, which seem to be the only group included in that source's factoring, even while it includes Armenian Orthodox for Armenia, and Copts for Egypt.

+10
Level 74
Jun 23, 2018
I wish QM would stop forcing me to read these long complaints about people making long complaints about people who make long complaints about...oh, wait, QM doesn't force me to read any of the comments. Hmmmm. (But I still love 'em all.)
+9
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
It's not obligatory? Oh man! That opens up a lot of time in my calendar.
+4
Level 55
Jun 30, 2017
I got all except Serbia

and im from serbia

lol

+3
Level 42
Nov 5, 2017
Church of Armenia is called, Armenian Apostolic Church and usually, its sister churches are Coptic Church, Ethiopian Church, Indian church.
+3
Level 48
Feb 26, 2018
It's FYROM not Macedonia and it should be accepted as an answer
+1
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
No, it's not.
+5
Level 75
Jun 23, 2018
Actually, kalbahamut, the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Nations, and most countries in the world say that it is the actual name for it.
+2
Level 75
Jun 23, 2018
Never mind. I'm behind on the news. See the below comments.
+8
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
The Republic of Macedonia NEVER called themselves FYROM, that was a stupid name foisted upon them by Greeks and various international organizations wishing to appease Greeks. Apparently this month there was an agreement between Greece and Macedonia to rename the RoM to The Republic of North Macedonia. It always was and will forever remain titanically stupid that Greece should be so obsessed with what this country calls itself, but if RoNM makes both parties happy, fine, whatever, that's cool.

Now, whether the country is called the Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of North Macedonia, or the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" doesn't really matter as the short name for it will still be Macedonia... same as America, Mexico, China, etc.

+5
Level 75
Jun 23, 2018
kalbahamut sorry my friend but you have no idea what you're talking about. From what I assume from your comments, you're an Arab probably educated in western institutions so you only know what you hear from CNN and Al-Jazeera about the Balkans.

First of all, it's NOT just a naming dispute "by the stupid Greeks". Many people from North Macedonia/FYROM have irredentist claims against the greek province of Macedonia and its ancient greek history. Also the name of the state remains as FYROM even though most people worldwide know it as Macedonia. So you're again mistaken as the deal signed by the two states is not yet in effect. Nobody used the name to "appease the Greeks", nobody cares about the Greeks which is perfectly demonstrated by the fact that Greece is used as a scapegoat by all european countries for causing the economic crisis and as a storage place for the refugees because they don't want them in their countries.

Comparing the naming dispute to Georgia is just plain idiotic.

+3
Level 81
Sep 25, 2019
I'm actually not an Arab. I've got Greek relatives. I know what I'm talking about. And I lived for a while in Thessaloniki. You're still getting your panties in a twist over this even after the naming compromise? That's plain idiotic.
+1
Level 75
Jun 23, 2018
Ourania, Jetpunk uses Macedonia instead of FYROM because it is shorter and easier. FYROM is accepted, though.
+1
Level 70
Jun 23, 2018
Well it's now the Republic of North Macedonia, just settled this with Greece last week.
+1
Level 75
Jun 23, 2018
I mean typing Macedonia is easier than typing the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Also didn't know about the name change. Nice to see the two countries getting along better.
+1
Level 75
Jun 23, 2018
Perhaps now Jetpunk should use North Macedonia or something similar.
+2
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
Until there's a country called "South Macedonia"... no... just no.. and we're not going to start calling the Caucasian country of Georgia "East Georgia" just because there's an American province that shares the name.
+1
Level 75
Jun 24, 2018
But North Macedonia is the new name of the country. If a part of Texas broke off from the United States and called itself "South Texas," would you call it just Texas when there is another Texas right next to it and the name makes sense? I feel that changing the name would also stop further debate.
+3
Level 75
Jun 25, 2018
But no one knows or really cares about the province of Moldova. North Macedonia has had a huge dispute with Greece over its name, and there have been enough debates on this subject already. I am simply proposing to use a name which everyone has agreed upon because it keeps everyone happy and prevents arguments like this from happening in every quiz mentioning the country, as it has previously. Also, up until last week, FYROM was the official name for the country, so I don't understand why you think Macedonia is the official name. It has never been, or has not been for a very, very, very long time called Macedonia.
+1
Level 75
Jun 26, 2018
Although you are right about use in everyday conversation. Jetpunk, however, is not everyday conversation.
+2
Level 81
Sep 25, 2019
If a piece of Texas broke away from the United States, and named themselves the Republic of Texas, but most people called this new country simply "Texas" as it was simpler, and on country quizzes just "Texas" was an acceptable type-in for the new country, I would be absolutely 1000% okay with this. That would make perfect sense. Getting mad about it would be just about the stupidest thing ever. Let them call themselves whatever they want. I would be every bit as mad about this as when Western Samoa became an independent country, renamed themselves The Independent State of Samoa, and people started referring to the country simply as "Samoa," without ever consulting any of the inhabitants of Eastern Samoa, a.k.a. American Samoa, about this. As actually happened in 1962.

One side of this argument is indefensibly stupid and there's no getting around that, I'm sorry.

+1
Level 81
Sep 25, 2019
and P.S. I decided I'm actually perfectly fine with calling the Republic of Macedonia "North Macedonia" if that has been agreed to by the Macedonian government, and if it will stop these dumb arguments from taking place, but someone above saw fit to engage in the same dumb argument even after this compromise so my optimism is tenuous.
+1
Level 49
Jun 11, 2020
it's all said and done now, in spite of there not being a South Macedonia....yes, just yes.
+2
Level 81
Jul 31, 2020
There's a country of South Africa without there being a country of North Africa. And a West Virginia with no East Virginia. No West Timor. No Outer Mongolia. I don't see a conflict.
+1
Level 36
Jun 23, 2018
Never too old to learn. I would have guessed that the majority of the Arabian countries (with the exception of Egypt and Lebanon) would

be Muslim.

+5
Level 70
Jun 23, 2018
A country can be majority Muslim but still have a large minority of Orthodox Christians. This is true in the case of Egypt, for example.
+2
Level 51
Jun 23, 2018
Around 90% of Egypt are Muslims while 9% are Coptic Christians...the last 1% are other religions
+2
Level 81
Jun 23, 2018
Look at the percentages.
+1
Level 74
Jan 7, 2022
The percentage given in this quiz is wrong, according to its own source. The cited wikipedia article mentions 10% orthodox christians in egypt. In the next line it says: "5% in Sudan (total christians: 15%)". So the 15% number is total christians in SUDAN (all denominations) and NOT Egypt.
+1
Level ∞
Jan 7, 2022
Sudan is 97% Muslim. Not going to look into this further.
+1
Level 60
Jun 30, 2018
I had one minute left and just remembered there were orthodox in Ethiopia so I put in and for some reason put in Sudan instead of Eritrea and ran out of time before I could fully type it. On the other hand I would've never guessed Egypt.
+1
Level 45
Oct 19, 2018
Egypt! I EVEN TYPED IN PART OF THE NAME!!
+1
Level 72
Nov 11, 2020
Include Northern Cyprus statistics for Cyprus.
+1
Level 44
Nov 15, 2020
Lebanon has 16% Orthodox Christian (10% Greek Orthodox and 6% Armenian) but it isn't here. Egypt doesn't have 15% Orthodox Christian but instead has around 6-8%. That number was recorded in early 2000's, before the massive Muslim population rise.
+4
Level 82
Nov 28, 2020
I don't know what's the source for the stated percentages, but in case of Serbia, I know 97% of Orthodox Christians is completely wrong. Official 2011 population census states 84.59% of the population consideres itself Orthodox Christian. Here is an official link, you can check it yourself (the data for the country as a whole is in the first row): http://media.popis2011.stat.rs/2014/02/5_-Stanovnistvo-prema-veroispovesti-po-opstinama-i-gradovima.xls

Also, if you know the demographics of Serbia, with several mainly Catholic, Protestant and Muslim minorities, and with the country's communist past, you also know it is impossible the percentage to be anywhere near 97%. I guess other countries' percentages should probably be checked as well.

+1
Level 71
Dec 14, 2020
Yeah, that number seemed fishy to me, especially considering the large Muslim populations in neighboring countries (just look at Kosovo!). I looked it up and it like it's more like ~85% Orthodox.
+1
Level 70
Dec 9, 2020
vitriden i ja sam pomislio da Srbija nema 97 procenata pravoslavaca jer samo Bosnjaci i Madjari koji nisu pravoslavci cine oko 6 procenata stanovnistva a gde su druge nepravoslavne manjine....
+2
Level 64
Dec 14, 2020
Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt are NOT Eastern Orthodox -- they are Oriental Orthodox
+1
Level 71
Dec 15, 2020
Read the caveat at the top.
+1
Level 38
Aug 13, 2021
i thought i wrote kyrgyzstan, goddamn spelling i bet
+1
Level 39
Nov 6, 2021
Got All Accept Estonia
+1
Level 91
Jan 7, 2022
I missed Ethiopia and Eritrea.
+2
Level 62
Jan 7, 2022
In Serbia, orthodox christians are 84.5% of the population. Christians are 90.5%.
+1
Level 54
Jan 7, 2022
hey the percentage for bulgaria is extremely wrong, it's actually around 82%
+1
Level 48
Nov 18, 2022
I was really not expecting to get 100% on this one.
+1
Level 23
Mar 10, 2024
I missed out on Montenegro and Kyrgyzstan. l think the former is less excusable than the latter as most of the Balkan region comprises a mosaic of Orthodox and Muslim religious majorities (owing to its respective historic Byzantine and Ottoman influences) with Catholicism being prevalent further North (in Croatia and Slovenia, Hungary, etc. as a result of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Catholic legacy). Central Asia (i.e. the "Stan States") is in fact mostly Islamic (owing to the Persian and Turkic influences) so l was enlighten to find Kyrgyzstan more "Christenised" than say, Kazakhstan further north. I was also surprised by the exclusion of Lebanon and Syria.