Vatican News: 17-10-2025
In 2023, the number of Catholics will reach 1.4 billion, or 17.8% of the world population of 7.9 billion. This figure is up on the previous year, with 15,881,000 more Catholics than in the previous year. The increase in the number of faithful covers all five continents, including Europe, reversing the trend recorded in the previous census, which showed a decline in the number of Catholics on the old continent. Growth in the number of Catholics is evident in Africa (+8.3 million) and America (+5.6 million), followed by Asia (+954,000), Europe (+740,000) and Oceania (+210,000). The percentage of Catholics in the world population is slightly up on the previous year (+0.1).
The number of priests and nuns is falling, except in Africa and Asia
And while the number of baptized is rising, the total number of priests worldwide is falling. They total 407,000, a figure that includes a drastic drop in Europe (-2,500), followed by America (-800) and Oceania (-44). On the other hand, there has been a significant increase in the number of priests in Africa (+1,451) and Asia (+1,145), two continents that continue to prove the preferred reservoir of priestly vocations for the Church’s mission.
Religious men and women are also on the decline. The former total 48,000, 600 fewer than in 2022, while the latter number 589,000, with a significant drop of 9,700, attributable mainly to Europe, where statistics show 7,300 fewer nuns, and America (-4,000). Africa is holding up well, with an additional 1,800 nuns.
Worldwide, major seminarians (diocesan and religious) number around 106,000, a loss of 2,000 on the previous year; by contrast, minor seminarians number around 95,000, a slight numerical drop (-140), which does not prevent a slight increase in Asia and America (+27).
The number of permanent deacons continues to rise worldwide (+1,234), topping the 51,000 mark, thanks in particular to increases in America (+1,200) and Oceania (+57).
The pillars of evangelization
The dossier published on Friday October 17 by the Fides agency does not fail to highlight the work of lay missionaries, of whom there are over 440,000 worldwide, and catechists (2.8 million in total, worldwide). They are true pillars of pastoral care and evangelization, especially in “mission lands” where the Church’s presence is relatively recent.
The worldwide Catholic community’s commitment to education is equally extensive, both in the most developed countries and in the southern hemisphere, in nations where the beginnings and early activities of evangelization are often accompanied by educational initiatives. Worldwide, the Catholic Church supports more than 74,000 nursery schools, attended by 7.6 million children, and 102,000 elementary school, with 36 million pupils. Its 52,000 secondary schools cater for more than 20.7 million pupils, while 7 million teenagers and young people attend higher education establishments, universities and grandes écoles attached to Church realities or Catholic congregations.
Missionaries of hope
Hospitals and social assistance centers linked to the Catholic Church also number 104,000 on five continents: over 5,000 hospitals and some 145,000 dispensaries, as well as 504 leprosaria, make a considerable contribution to the care of the sick and the poor, often giving priority to the most vulnerable and those who cannot afford costly treatment. There are more than 15,000 homes for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled, 11,000 childcare centers and 50,000 other facilities around the world, including listening centers, welcome homes, shelters for displaced persons and social services of all kinds, where volunteers, priests, consecrated men and women and lay people continue to be missionaries of hope every day.
Each year, on the occasion of World Mission Sunday, celebrated this Sunday, October 19, on the theme “Missionaries of hope among peoples”, the Fides agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies prepares and publishes a statistical dossier based on the latest “Annuaire statistique de l’Église”. These figures cover the entire reality of the Catholic Church worldwide, from community members and pastoral structures to activities in the fields of health, social aid and education.
