More than 80 of the world's 199 countries have an official state religion or a preferred religion, according to Pew Research. Of the 43 countries with a recognised state religion, Islam is the state religion in 27.

A further 106 countries have no state religion or preferred religion, while 10 countries treat their citizens with hostility over the practice of religion.

Christianity is the state religion in 13 countries, including nine in Europe. Bhutan and Cambodia have Buddhism as their state religion, and Israel is a Jewish state.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.