The Catholic Church in numbers

The Fides Agency studied statistical data from the Catholic Church, collected in 2026. The information on the world population corresponds to June 30, 2024, and the rest to December 31 of the same year. The data is compared with the year 2023. A translation of the text with some adaptations is presented below.

The number of Catholics in the world has increased., ...with a greater incidence of lay missionaries and catechists. There was also a slight increase in priests. However, the number of nuns and major seminarians decreased. This happens differently on the five continents: in Africa there is a greater increase in baptisms, being the only continent where the number of nuns and major seminarians increased.

Catholics have increased on every continent.As of June 30, 2024, the population registered in the Yearbook amounted to 7,995,573,000 people. Catholics numbered 1,422,144,000, an increase of 16,690,000 compared to the previous year. The percentage of the world population remains at 17.8%. The number of baptisms increased, with the largest increase recorded in Africa, followed by America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. America continues to be the continent with the most Catholics, with 678,869,000, representing 64% of the population. Africa has 288,312,000 baptisms, a number that slightly exceeds Europe, where 287,240,000 were recorded. Next comes Asia, with 156,166,000 Catholics, and Oceania, with 11,557,000. The percentage of Catholics in relation to the population of each continent is 19.9% in Africa, 39.7% in Europe, 3.3% in Asia, and 25.9% in Oceania.

PriestsSlight increase, varying by continent. For the first time in five years, there was an increase: 407,421, that is, 425 more than in the previous census. The positive balance is due to increases in Africa (+1,676), Asia (+1,065) and America (+199), which compensates for the decreases recorded in Europe (-2,483) and Oceania (-32). The number of diocesan priests increased, while the number of religious priests decreased. The number of Catholics per priest also increased, standing at 3,491, varying by continent.

Religious sisters and seminariansThe number of nuns continues to decline globally. Worldwide, the number of nuns stands at 580,131, representing a decrease of 9,292. Africa is the only continent that registered an increase (+2,190). However, the number of nuns fell in Europe (-6,473), America (-4,432), Asia (-320), and Oceania (-257). There was also a decrease in the number of major seminarians, both diocesan and religious: from 106,495 in the previous census, the number dropped to 103,604, a decrease of 2,891. The number increased in Africa (+786), which currently has 35,710 major seminarians. The most significant decrease occurred in Asia (-2,733), followed by Europe (-701), America (-227), and Oceania (-16). In smaller seminaries, there is an increase in Africa and Oceania and a decrease in the remaining continents.

The number of lay missionaries and catechists is increasing.Lay missionaries number 463,079, an increase of 18,473. This substantial increase is occurring primarily in the Americas (+20,492), but also in Africa and Oceania, while decreasing in Asia and Europe.

There are currently 2,889,336 catechists, an increase of 22,370. The largest increase is in America (+16,515) and Asia (+13,616), followed by Oceania (+48). The number decreased in Europe (-7,603) and Africa (-206).

Service in the fields of education, health, and charity:
The Catholic Church has 75,448 creeds, with 7,480,373 children; 103,666 primary schools, with 36,314,935 students; and 51,810 secondary schools, with 20,340,808 students. In addition, there are 2,685,027 students in higher education institutions and 4,091,087 in university institutes. Africa has the highest number of students enrolled in Catholic primary schools, with 21,292,853.

There are 101,110 health and charitable institutions: 5,397 hospitals, 13,646 dispensaries, 468 leprosariums, 16,263 residences for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled, 8,138 orphanages, 10,352 daycare centers, 10,624 marriage counseling centers, 3,194 social rehabilitation centers and 33,028 institutions with diverse services. Africa has the largest number of hospitals and dispensaries, while Europe concentrates the majority of homes for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled.