Religious freedom is declining globally, according to new research.

The report, published by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, shows that more than 2.2 billion people – about a third of the world’s population – live in countries where government restrictions or social hostilities involving religion are increasing.

The survey, entitled Rising Restrictions on Religion, also finds that Europe had the largest proportion of countries in which social hostilities related to religion were on the rise from mid-2006 to mid-2009.

Five of the 10 countries in the world that had a substantial increase in social hostilities were in Europe: Bulgaria, Denmark, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The survey also shows intolerant countries growing more hostile to religious freedom, and tolerant ones growing more accommodating.

“There seems to be somewhat of a polarisation,” particularly in countries with constitutional prohibitions against blasphemy, said Brian Grim, the primary researcher of the report. “When you have one set of restrictions in place then it’s easier to add on.”

And while the vast majority of countries of countries – 117 – had low levels of government restriction, more than half of the world’s population (59 per cent) was living with high or very high government restrictions as of mid-2009.

This is because many of the more restrictive countries (including China and India) are very populous.

Among those nations with the greatest increases in government religious restrictions, ranked from most to least populous, were: Egypt, France, Algeria, Uganda and Malaysia.

Among those nations where government restrictions declined, ranked from most to least populous, were: Greece, Togo, Nicaragua, Republic of Macedonia and Guinea-Bissau.

Over the three-year period studied, incidents of either government or social harassment were reported against Christians in 130 countries (66 per cent) and against Muslims in 117 countries (59 per cent).

Buddhists and Hindus – who together account for roughly one-fifth of the world’s population and who are more geographically concentrated than Christians or Muslims – faced harassment in fewer places; harassment was reported against Buddhists in 16 countries (eight per cent) and against Hindus in 27 countries (14 per cent).

Overall, the report found that 14 countries had a substantial increase in government restrictions on religion, while eight had a substantial decline.

In terms of social hostilities involving religion, 10 countries had a substantial increase, while five had a substantial decline.

The report, culling data from 198 countries and territories from 2006 through 2009, also measured social hostility toward religious groups.

As other reports on religious freedom have found, it is scarcest in the Middle East and North Africa.

But Europe, the study noted, has the largest proportion of countries where social hostilities related to religion rose. In France, for example, women are barred by law from wearing face-covering veils.