Posted on 03/30/2026 2:34:05 PM PDT by ebb tide
17.8% of the world’s people are Catholic, a figure that remained steady in 2024, according to statistics published in the new editions of the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (2024 edition) and Annuario Pontificio (2026 edition).
The number of Catholics rose from 1.406 billion in 2023 to 1.422 billion in 2024, an increase of 1.14%. The growth in Catholic population was most dynamic in Africa, where the Catholic population rose from just over 281 million in 2023 to over 288 million in 2024.
There are now more Catholics in Africa than in Europe. 47.7% of the world’s Catholics live in the Americas, 20.3% in Africa, 20.1% in Europe, 11.0% in Asia, and 0.9% in Oceania.
Between 2023 and 2024, the number of baptisms fell to 13,065,918, a decline of 0.6%, while first Communions rose by 1.1% (to 9,194,143) and Confirmations rose by 1.7% (to 7,823,882).
The number of bishops, priests and deacons rose in 2024:
On the other hand, the 13-year decline in the number of seminarians worldwide accelerated in 2024.
After years of precipitous decline, the number of women religious remained steady at 589,423 in 2023 and 2024, according to reports from Vatican News. The number of women religious rose by 2.6% in Africa in 2024 and fell elsewhere.
Francis served as Pope for 12 of those years. Coincidence?
Ping
Sounds like less kids were born recently which explains the drop in baptisms. Since baptism is a requirement for First Communion & Confirmation, these numbers show a decline in live births & not a decline in the Catholic faith.
Adult baptisms don’t seem to be separated out from all baptisms here. I can see how fewer people having children would affect the number of infant baptisms, but by all reports that I have seen, adult baptisms are on the rise.
To make your point clearer: Baptisms are more cultural than religious, often. East Germany even Baptised children into the Communist Party. A decline in baptisms can indicate a declining birth rate, but also a shrinking of the marginally attached Catholic population. Confirmations are a declaration of faith, and a much better indication of faith. 1.7% is very healthy growth.
>> The contribution of different continents to the overall figure varies. Europe remains the least dynamic continent, with Catholic numbers rising by only 0.8%. <<
Any growth at all is pretty impressive; Europe’s native population. Europe’s population grew by under a million (0.4%), so the four million new immigrants into EU from non-EU countries largely offset what would have been significant population losses. These offsetting immigrants are most commonly from Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Turkey, Belarus, China and Morocco, nations with small Catholic populations. Venezuela, with a large Catholic population was #5 on the list, though, and Ukraine was #2. Catholics are a minority in Ukraine, but I might think they might be most likely to flee.
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