Vatican Central Office Church statistic published Pontifical Yearbook 2025 and Annuarium Statisticalum Ecclesiae 2023which represent the state of the Catholic Church in the world.
According to the figures, the number of Catholics increased by 1.15% – from 1.39 billion in 2022 to 1,406 billion in 2023. The biggest increase was recorded in Africa – by 3.31%. This continent now represents 20% of the global Catholic community. There are almost 55 million Catholics surviving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 35 million in Nigeria.
America is liable for 47.8% of all Catholics, of which 27.4% belong to South America. Brazil remains the largest Catholic country – with 182 million believers. Asia recorded a modest increase of 0.6%, with the dominant function of the Philippines (93 million) and India (23 million). Europe, although bringing together 20.4% of Catholics, remains the least dynamic region (+0.2%). In Oceania, the number of Catholics increased by 1.9% to 11 million.
More bishops, little priests
The number of bishops increased: from 5,353 in 2022 to 5,430 in 2023 (+1.4%). The biggest increase was recorded in Africa and Asia. The least change has happened in Oceania. On average, there are 259 000 Catholics per bishop, although in Africa it is 365 000 and in Oceania only 87 000.
On the another hand, the number of priests fell by 734 – to 406 996. Growth occurred in Africa (+2.7%) and Asia (+1.6%), while declines were recorded in Europe (-1.6%), Americas (-0.7%) and Oceania (-1.0%). Europe continues to focus the highest percent of priests – 38.1%, even though the number of Catholics there is decreasing.
The data shows a clear imbalance between the number of Catholics and the number of clergy. For example, in Europe, priests are proportionally much more than Catholics, while in Africa and South America, clergymen are lacking.
More permanent deacons, little religious
The number of solid deacons increased by 2.6%, reaching 51,433. The largest increase was recorded in Oceania (+10.8%) and America (+3.8%). In Africa and Europe, numbers have fallen slightly. 39% of all solid deacons service in North America and 31% in Europe.
Despite growth, their number does not compensate for the decrease in the number of priests – there are on average 13 deacons per 100 priests. In Africa, this origin is only 1.
The nuns and nuns: the decline slows down, but the trend continues
The number of spiritual brothers continues to decline, but for Africa, where growth has been recorded. The situation is akin with the nuns: their number decreased from 599 228 to 589 423 (1.6%). The largest declines occurred in Europe (-3.8%) and North America (-3.6%). Growth was recorded only in Africa (+2.2%) and Southeast Asia (+0.1%).
The nuns are globally inactive 45% more than priests. Despite the declines, they stay an crucial pillar of the Church's life – frequently replacing priests where they are missing.
Call crisis: little and little seminarians
Since 2012, the number of seminarians has fallen continuously. In 2023 there were 106,495 of them – by 1.8% little than a year earlier. Only Africa recorded growth (+1.1%). The declines affected Europe (-4.9%) and Asia (-4.2%) in particular.
The largest share of seminarians is in Africa (32.8%) and Asia (28.6%), contrasting with Europe (12%) and America (25.7%), where vocational facilities do not keep up with pastoral needs.
Statistical data of the Catholic Church in 2023 show that despite the increasing number of faithful, especially in Africa and Asia, the number of clergymen, especially priests and seminarians, is decreasing in Europe and America. Although the number of permanent deacons and any spiritual groups in developing regions is increasing, the problem of the deficiency of a adequate number of pastoralists is global. This challenge is becoming increasingly urgent to the increasing number of Catholics, especially in the global South.
