World Christian Database: field definitions

Data source: Gina A. Zurlo, ed., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2025).

Table Field Description
country Urban Pop Number of urbanites (town and city dwellers) in this country. [primary source: UN: World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision].
country WCEO URL External link to the World Christian Encyclopedia (3rd edition) article for this country. (Subscription product: World Christian Encyclopedia Online, Todd M. Johnson, Gina A. Zurlo. Brill, 2020).
country Wealth per capita Individual net worth, per person in 2018, expressed in US dollars (official exchange rates). Defined as the marketable value of financial assets plus non-financial assets (principally housing and land) less debts. Primary source: Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2018.
country Year begun The first year this country had Christian residents.
country Zoroastrian % Number of Zoroastrians as a percentage of the country's population. Zoroastrianism is a religion founded in Persia in BC 1200 by the prophet Zoroaster teaching the worship of Ahura Mazda, now followed by Parsis in India and a large underground presence in Iran, Afghanistan, et alia.
country Zoroastrians Number of Zoroastrians in this country's population. Zoroastrianism is a religion founded in Persia in BC 1200 by the prophet Zoroaster teaching the worship of Ahura Mazda, now followed by Parsis in India and a large underground presence in Iran, Afghanistan, et alia.
denomination c1 World communion code World communion code(s). Each communion membership is represented by a single case-sensitive letter, or by a 2-character letter/number combination.
denomination c2 World council code World council code(s). Each council membership is represented by a single case-sensitive letter.
denomination c3 Continental council code Continental council code(s). Each council membership is represented by a single case-sensitive letter.
denomination c4 Regional council code Regional council code(s). Each council membership is represented by a single case-sensitive letter.
denomination c5 National council code National council code(s). Each council membership is represented by a single case-sensitive letter.
denomination Council codes Codes indicate membership of communions and councils as defined in the Communion table. Concatanated for quick reference, the first code is World Communion, 2nd is World Council, 3rd Continental Council, 4th Regional Council and 5th National Council.
denomination Country code Four-letter abbreviation assigned to country for database purposes.
denomination Country ID Database ID of the country of this denomination.
denomination Denomination ID Unique denomination-in-country identifier (primary key) used by the database.
denomination Denomination name The official name of church or denomination in this country.
denomination Denomination sort Temporary number assigned to the denomination by the database for the purpose of sorting by the non-abbreviated alphabetical denomination name order.
denomination Ecclesiastical Type The denomination's major and minor tradition code.
denomination Evangelical % Evangelicals as a percentage of affiliated in this denomination.
denomination Family Ecclesiastical traditions summarized across major traditions, for example, every Baptist denomination, whether it is Protestant or Independent is coded as Baptist.
denomination Female % Percentage of this denomination's affiliated who are female.
denomination Growth % pa 1970-2000 This is the percentage of church growth this denomination experienced per year during the 30 year period of 1970-2000 in this country.
denomination Growth % pa 2000-2015 This is the percentage of church growth this denomination experienced per year during the 15 year period of 2000-2015 in this country.
denomination Is this a sub-denomination 1 = this a diocese or sub-denomination.
denomination Major Tradition This is the denomination's ecclesiastical tradition in the country. A "Tradition" is one of 4 major subdivisions of affiliated Christians and their churches.
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Religions

Data on 18 categories of religion, including non-religious, by country, province, and people.

Countries and regions

Data on all religions, Christian activities, and trends.

Denominations

Membership data, year begun, and rates of change.

Cities & provinces

Population and religion data on all major cities & provinces.

Peoples & languages

Detailed information covering religion, culture, and geography.

Archive

A repository of historical data, including a chronology of Christianity from the 1st to 21st centuries.