The number of Catholics has tipped over the 1.4 billion mark, according to the latest research from the Vatican. Source: Catholic Herald.
The Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics has released the 2025 Pontifical Yearbook, providing details about the number of Catholics, consecrated religious, priests, bishops and the like throughout the world.
The global Catholic population increased by 1.15 per cent between 2022 and 2023, rising from approximately 1.39 billion to 1.406 billion, according to the yearbook.
The percentage increase was similar to that of the previous biennium, reports Vatican News.
According to the yearbook, Africa includes 20 per cent of the world’s Catholics and is characterised by a highly dynamic spread of the Church.
The number of Catholics in the continent increased from 272 million in 2022 to 281 million in 2023, with a relative variation of +3.31 per cent.
The Democratic Republic of Congo confirms its first-place position for the number of baptised Catholics, with almost 55 million, followed by Nigeria with 35 million; Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya also register significant figures.
The Americas, with a growth of 0.9 per cent over the biennium, consolidate their position as the continents to which 47.8 per cent of the world’s Catholics belong.
Of these, 27.4 per cent reside in South America (where Brazil, with 182 million, represents 13 per cent of the world total and continues to be the country with the highest concentration of Catholics).
In North America are located 6.6 per cent, with the remaining 13.8 per cent in Central America.
Asia records a growth in Catholic numbers of 0.6 per cent over the biennium, and its ratio in 2023 is around 11 per cent of the global Catholic population.Â
Europe, while hosting 20.4 per cent of the world Catholic community, confirms itself as the least dynamic area, with an increase in the number of Catholics over the biennium of just 0.2 per cent. This variation, though, in the face of an almost stagnant demographic dynamic, translates into a slight improvement in territorial presence, notes Vatican News, reaching nearly 39.6 per cent in 2023.
The Catholics of Oceania numbered just over 11 million in 2023, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to 2022.
FULL STORY
Global Catholic population surpasses 1.4 billion souls (Catholic Herald)
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