This growth highlights the continued expansion of the Church in most parts of the world despite a notable decline in Europe.

Africa led the global increase, with its Catholic population rising by over 7.3 million to surpass 272.4 million, making up 19.7% of the continent's population. This marks a 0.32% rise from 2021, the largest growth in Catholic representation across all regions.

In the Americas, the Catholic population grew by over 5.9 million, reaching 666.2 million. Asia also saw an increase, albeit more modest, of about 889,000 Catholics, pushing the total to over 154.24 million. Oceania's Catholic population rose by 123,000, totalling nearly 11.11 million.

Catholics now represent 17.7% of the global population, an increase of 0.03% from 2021.

These gains contrast with Europe, where the Catholic population fell by nearly 474,000 in 2022, continuing a long-term trend of decline. Europe's Catholic population now stands at 285.6 million, making up 39.5% of the continent's total population, a drop of 0.08%.

Europe's decline in Catholics coincides with a decrease in the continent's overall population, which lost about 517,000 people in 2022.

Clergy numbers fall

The report also highlights changes within the Catholic clergy.

The number of Catholic priests worldwide dropped for the fifth consecutive year, with a net loss of 142 priests in 2022.

Europe saw the largest decline, losing 2,745 priests, while the Americas and Oceania also experienced smaller reductions. However, Africa and Asia bucked the trend, gaining 1,676 and 1,160 priests, respectively.

The number of women religious also fell globally, with a decline of 9,730 in 2022, largely driven by losses in Europe and the Americas.

Meanwhile, permanent deacons increased by 974 globally, with notable rises in Europe and the Americas.

According to Fides news agency, the number of major seminarians worldwide declined from 109,895 in 2021 to 108,481 in 2022. This continued a downward trend since a peak of 120,616 in 2011. The decline was most significant in the Americas and Europe, while Africa saw an increase of 726 seminarians.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Agenzia Fides

Catholic Culture

CathNews New Zealand

At the end of 2019, the worldwide Catholic population exceeded 1.34 billion or about 17.7% of the world's population.

This marked an increase of 16 million Catholics or 1.12% increase compared to 2018 while the world's population grew by 1.08%.

The Vatican regularly brings out a Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the latest showing church figures as of Dec. 31, 2019.

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However, the reduction in the numbers of priests is placing pressure on the fewer clergy.

The number of Catholics grew 16 million to 1.33 billion in the past year according to figures released by the Vatican ahead of 2020 World Mission Sunday on October 18.

The percentage of Catholics in the world remained at 17.73%, indicating the increasing numbers are in line with world population growth.

All continents reflected growth. Africa reported the most significant increase in Catholics with 9.2 million.

Europe increased by 94,000, showing a rise for the third year running. Growth in the Americas was 4.5 million, 1.8 million in Asia, and 177,000 in Oceania.

Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies has presented the statistics annually since 1927.

The figures are taken from the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae, or Statistical Yearbook of the Church published on March 25.

While the number of Catholics is on the rise worldwide, the number of priests and ordained leaders has dropped significantly. The reduction is particularly notable in Europe and America.

This is according to the report issued by the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the body charged with distributing clergy and coordinating missions around the world.

The total number of priests in the world decreased to 414,065 in 2018, with Europe registering a drop of 2,675 priests compared to 2017.

The report also reveals a slight decrease in the number of Catholic faithful in America, Europe and Oceania, while Africa and Asia bucked the trend and continued to show signs of growth, according to the data.

The reduction in Clergy combined with the increase in Catholics is putting pressure on priests who must minister to larger numbers of people.

The figures reveal there are now 3,210 Catholics to every priest, and over 14,000 people per priest worldwide.

There has also been a significant decline in the numbers of religious women (nuns).

The number of sisters has dropped by 7429 compared to 2017.

According to an article in Religion News Service, the reasons for the steady decline of Catholic Clergy worldwide are varied. These include secularization to the Church's ongoing sexual and financial scandals.

While the number of Clergy might be declining globally, the presence of lay missionaries is on the rise. The number of lay Catholic missionaries has grown by 20,388, to a total of 376,188, primarily in America and Asia.

The theme of this year's World Mission Day was "Here am I, send me."

In his message for the global Catholic event, Pope Francis acknowledged that "understanding what God is saying to us at this time of pandemic also represents a challenge for the Church's mission."

"In this context, the call to mission, the invitation to step out of ourselves for love of God and neighbor, presents itself as an opportunity for sharing, service and intercessory prayer," he added.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Religion News Service

Meanwhile, the numbers of bishops, permanent deacons, lay missionaries and catechists have all increased. Read more