A US research group says nearly a third of the world's population lives in countries where it is becoming more difficult to freely practice religion.
The Pew Research Center's forum on religion and public life said on Tuesday that government restrictions and public hostility involving religion grew in some of the most populous countries from mid-2006 to mid-2009.
''The extent of violence and abuse related to religion increased in more places than it decreased,'' according to the report.
Only about 1% of the world lives in countries that saw more religious tolerance during those years, it said.
The review of 198 countries found those deemed restrictive or hostile in the previous report were growing even more so, while the opposite was found for those with more religious tolerance.
A substantial rise in public hostility toward religious groups was seen in China, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam and Britain, while government restrictions rose substantially in Egypt and France.
Countries most restrictive or hostile toward certain religions included India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran, China, Myanmar, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Nigeria and Bangladesh.
Mob violence involving religion occurred in 52 countries as of mid-2009, compared to 38 a year earlier.
Christians and Muslims were harassed in the most countries. Religious tension in Britain, Denmark, Russia, Sweden and Bulgaria focused on the rapidly growing Muslim population.
