Fact check: Which European country has the largest number of mosques per capita?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, Bulgaria appears to have the highest number of mosques per capita in Europe. Two sources specifically support this claim, citing Eurostat data and indicating Bulgaria has approximately 1,200 mosques ^{[1] [2]}. The second source provides additional demographic context, including statistics about students studying Islam in elementary public schools and the number of Bulgarians who identify as Muslims ^[2].

However, there is significant uncertainty surrounding this data. A Reddit discussion forum raises serious questions about the accuracy of commonly circulated maps, with one user claiming that "the person who made the map read the data the other way around. he's actually displaying the number of Christian churches, not mosques" ^[3]. This suggests that some widely shared visualizations may contain fundamental errors.

The remaining sources focus on broader Muslim demographic trends in Europe but do not provide specific mosque per capita data for comparison between European countries ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several important contextual elements:

• Definition clarity: The analyses don't specify whether "mosques" includes all Islamic prayer facilities or only officially registered mosques, which could significantly impact per capita calculations.
• Data verification challenges: There appears to be confusion between mosque data and Christian church data in some commonly referenced sources ^[3], suggesting that reliable, standardized data on European mosque numbers may be difficult to obtain.
• Demographic context: While some sources discuss growing Muslim populations in countries like Sweden, Finland, and Norway ^[8], they don't correlate this with mosque construction or per capita ratios.
• Historical factors: The analyses don't explain why Bulgaria might have such a high ratio, potentially related to its Ottoman historical legacy and established Muslim communities.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself doesn't contain obvious bias, as it's a straightforward factual inquiry. However, the underlying data sources appear problematic:

• Data confusion: The most concerning issue is the suggestion that widely circulated maps may be displaying Christian church data instead of mosque data ^[3], which would completely invalidate the Bulgaria claim.
• Lack of standardized methodology: The analyses don't indicate whether different countries use consistent definitions for counting mosques or calculating per capita ratios.
• Limited verification: Only two sources directly support the Bulgaria claim ^{[1] [2]}, while multiple other sources examining European Muslim demographics don't corroborate this specific statistic ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}.

The question appears legitimate, but the available data may be fundamentally flawed, making any definitive answer potentially misleading without more rigorous verification of the underlying statistics.