Pontifical Yearbook 2025 and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2023
New Church statistics reveal growing Catholic population, but a decreasing number of priests
The Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics released the 2025 Pontifical Yearbook and Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2023 providing details about the number of Catholics, consecrated religious, priests, and bishops throughout the world.
The global Catholic population saw a growth of 1.15% from 2022 to 2023, increasing from approximately 1.39 billion to 1.406 billion, similar to the previous two-year period. The distribution of baptized Catholics varies significantly across different regions, reflecting the unique demographics of each continent.
Africa now accounts for 20% of the global Catholic population, demonstrating a robust expansion of the Catholic Church. The number of Catholics in Africa rose from 272 million in 2022 to 281 million in 2023, representing a growth rate of +3.31%. The Democratic Republic of Congo leads with nearly 55 million baptized Catholics, followed by Nigeria with 35 million, along with notable figures in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya.
In the Americas, which hold 47.8% of the world’s Catholics, there was a growth of 0.9%. South America, home to 27.4% of Catholics, is led by Brazil, where 182 million Catholics represent 13% of the global total. Countries like Argentina, Colombia, and Paraguay show a Catholic presence exceeding 90% of their populations.
Asia recorded a 0.6% increase in Catholics, making up about 11% of the global total. The Philippines and India house the majority of the Catholic population in Southeast Asia, with 93 million and 23 million, respectively.
Europe, hosting 20.4% of the global Catholic community, experienced the slowest growth at just 0.2%, with significant concentrations remaining in Italy, Poland, and Spain.
The number of bishops in the Catholic Church rose by 1.4% from 5,353 in 2022 to 5,430 in 2023, with the most notable increases in Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the number of priests slightly declined to 406,996, with notable growth in Africa and Asia but decreases in Europe, Oceania, and the Americas.The distribution of priests in 2023 by geographical area shows that 38.1% of the total priests are in Europe, 29.1% belong to the American continents (US, Canada, South America), 18.2% in Asia, 13.5% in Africa, and 1.1% in Oceania
Permanent deacons saw a robust increase of 2.6%, reaching 51,433 in 2023, while the number of professed religious sisters decreased by 1.6% to 589,423. The trend of declining seminarians continued, dropping to 106,495, with Africa being the only continent to see an increase. It is noted that permanent deacons tend to have a greater presence in those areas where candidates for the priesthood are lower in number.
Images
- Photo by Xavier Coiffic on Unsplash
Sources
- New Church statistics reveal growing Catholic population, fewer pastoral workers – Vatican News – 20th March 2025