Vatican City – The number of Catholics worldwide is increasing, and the number of priests is growing again, albeit slightly. Meanwhile, the number of women religious and major seminarians continues to decrease, while the contribution of lay missionaries and catechists is increasing.
As every year, in view of World Mission Sunday, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary on Sunday, October 18, 2026, on the theme “One in Christ, united in mission”, Fides News Agency offers some statistics chosen to give a panorama of the Church in the world in the last year.
The data in the volume relating to the total world population reveal different trends. Africa recorded the largest increase in the number of Catholics and was the only continent to register an increase in both women religious and major seminarians.
All the data in the Dossier, compiled by Luca Mainoldi, are taken from the latest edition of the «Church’s Book of Statistics», published this year. It offers an overview of the Catholic Church’s presence worldwide, its pastoral structures, and its educational, healthcare and charitable activities.
Population and Catholic population data refer to 30 June 2024, while the other data are as of 31 December of the same year. variations are indicated in brackets, increase or decrease compared to the previous data .
The number of Catholics increases on every continent
To June 30, 2024 the world population was 7.995.573.000. Catholics in the world numbered 1.422.144.000 units with an overall increase of 16.690.000 Catholics compared to the previous year. The world percentage of Catholics remains unvaried, 17,8%.
The increase in the number of baptized was recorded on every continent. Increases were registered above all in Africa , and in America . Followed by Asia , Europe and Oceania .
Europe thus confirmed the increase already recorded in the previous survey.
More Catholics in Africa than in Europe
The Americas remain the continent with the largest Catholic population: 678,869,000, representing 64% of the continent’s population. Africa has 288,312,000 Catholics, surpassing Europe, where the total number is 287,240,000. Asia follows with 156,166,000 Catholics, while Oceania has 11,557,000.
The percentage of the Catholic population in all continents: 19.9% in Africa, 39.7% in Europe, 3.3% in Asia and 25.9% in Oceania.
Priests: a slight increase, with different trends across all continents
For the first time in five years, according to the dossier, the worldwide number of priests has increased, reaching 407,421, an increase of 425 compared to previous data.
The overall rise reflects increases in Africa , Asia and the Americas , that compensate decreases in Europe and Oceania . The numbers in the Americas increased after recording a decrease in the previous year.
The number of diocesan priests increased to 279,238 , while the number of religious priests decreased to 128,183 . Despite the slight overall increase in the number of priests, the average number of Catholics per priest also increased, reaching 3,491, or 38 more faithful per priest compared to previous data. This ratio increased in the Americas, Europe and Oceania, while decreased in Africa and Asia.
The number of bishops reached 5,525, an increase of 95 units: 4,365 diocesan bishops and 1,160 religious. The number of permanent deacons also continued to grow, reaching 52,102 , largely owing to increases in the Americas and Europe .
Women religious and seminarians: global decrease continues
The number of women religious worldwide is 580,131, a decrease of 9,292 compared to previous year data. Africa was the only continent to record an increase . Numbers decreased in Europe , the Americas , Asia and Oceania .
The number of non-religious priests is 48,511 . Numbers increased in Africa and Asia but declined on the other continents.
The number of major seminarians, both diocesan and religious, also decreased, falling from 106,495 in the previous data to 103,604, a decrease of 2,891. Africa was the only continent to record an increase , bringing its total to 35,710 major seminarians.
The most significant decline was registered in Asia , followed by Europe , the Americas and Oceania .
The number of minor seminarians fell to 94,041 while numbers increased in Africa and Oceania , but decreased in Europe , Asia and the Americas .
Growing contribution of lay missionaries and catechists
The dossier records an increase in the number of lay missionaries, which reached 463,079, 18,473 units compared to the previous year. An increase was concentrated primarily in the Americas . Increases were also recorded in Africa and Oceania, while numbers decreased in Asia and Europe.
The number of catechists reached 2,889,336 . The most significant increase was recorded in the Americas and Asia , with a further increase in Oceania .
Numbers decreased in Europe and, to a lesser extent, in Africa .
There are 3,047 ecclesiastical circumscriptions worldwide, six more than in the previous survey. Mission stations number 111,602 in total: 4,187 have a resident priest, while 107,415 do not. Compared to the previous year, the number of stations with a resident priest increased , while those without a resident priest decreased .
The Church’s educational, healthcare and charitable network
In the field of education, the Catholic Church runs 75.448 kindergartens with 7.480.373 pupils; 103.666 primary schools with 36.314.935 pupils; 51.810 secondary schools with 20.340.808 pupils. Furthermore, 2.685.027 pupils study in secondary schools and 4.091.087 in university institutes affiliated with the Catholic Church.
Compared to previous data, the number of kindergartens increased, although enrolment decreased. Both the number of primary schools and their enrolment increased, whereas secondary schools and student numbers both decreased. Africa has the largest number of pupils enrolled in Catholic primary schools, with 21,292,853 students.
Charity and healthcare centres run in the world by the Church are 101.110: 5.397 hospitals and 13.646 dispensaries, 468 Care Homes for people with Leprosy, 16.263 Homes for the elderly or the chronically ill or people with a disability, 8.138 orphanages, 10.352 creches; 10.624 marriage counselling centres, 3.194 social rehabilitation centers and 33.028 other kinds of institutes.
Africa has the largest number of hospitals and dispensaries, while Europe accounts for the majority of homes for the elderly, people with chronic illnesses and people with disabilities. Together, these institutes demonstrate how the Church’s pastoral structures are complemented by a daily presence in education, healthcare and social assistance.
The table regarding ecclesiastical circumscriptions entrusted to the care of the Dicastery for Evangelization shows that their total number is 1,130.
Link correlati :Catholic Church Statistics 2026
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