The 2025 Annuario Pontificio and 2023 Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae released by the Vatican offer a comprehensive look at the global Catholic Church, revealing both growth and challenges.
Over the 2022-2023 period, the global Catholic population rose by 1.15%, reaching 1.406 billion. Africa saw the highest growth, with a 3.31% increase, particularly in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Uganda.
While the Americas remain the largest region for Catholics, making up 47.8% of the global total, the growth here was more modest at 0.9%. In South America, Brazil continues to lead with the highest number of Catholics, while countries like Argentina and Paraguay report overwhelming Catholic majorities.
In Asia, the Catholic population grew by 0.6%, with significant numbers in the Philippines and India. Europe, home to 20.4% of the world’s Catholics, experienced a slow 0.2% increase, reflecting secularization trends in the region. Oceania saw moderate growth of 1.9%.
The reports also highlight significant trends in priestly vocations, showing a slight global decline of 0.2% in the number of priests. However, Africa and Asia saw increases, with Africa showing a 2.7% rise in priests.
In contrast, Europe and Oceania experienced declines in the number of priests. Additionally, the global number of seminarians continued its downward trend, dropping by 1.8%, particularly in Europe and the Americas, though Africa reported a slight increase.
The number of men and women religious worldwide also decreased by 1.6%, with Africa seeing a small increase in the number of women religious.
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