Vatican yearbook counts 1.3 billion Catholics—17.7% of the global population


GLOBAL CATHOLIC STATISTICAL DATA FOR THE YEAR 2023.

The Vatican has released the global Catholic statistical report for 2023.

Here are 13 highlights:


1. The Catholic population worldwide increased from 1.358 billion to 1.375 billion, an increase of 16.2 million from 2022.


2. The continent of Africa experienced the biggest increase with 8.3 million embracing the Catholic faith between 2022 and 2023.


3. The total number of Bishops in the world decreased by 23 units to 5,340.


4. Worldwide the number of priests dropped by 2,347. Europe experienced the largest decline, while Africa and Asia experienced increase. 


5. Africa had an increase of 1,518 priests.


6. Three countries with significant Mass attendance are Nigeria, Kenya, and Lebanon. 


7. Nigeria tops the list. Percentage of Nigerian Catholics that attend Mass weekly is 94%.


8. The global count of permanent deacons increased slightly, but men and women religious experienced concerning decline, especially in Europe and Latin America.



9. Africa had an increase of 205 men religious and 2,275 female religious. 


10. Africa shines in vocations to the priesthood. It is the only continent registering an increase in the number of both major and minor seminarians. 


11. Africa experienced an increase of 205 major seminarians and 2,053 minor seminarians. 


12. In Education, the Catholic Church has 74,000 kindergartens, 10,567 nursery schools, 101,000 primary schools, and 50,000 secondary schools serving the needs of over 65 million children in the world.


13. In Healthcare, the Catholic Church operates 5,405 hospitals, 14,205 dispensaries, 567 leper hospitals, 15,276 homes for the elderly, 9,703 orphanages, 10,604 marriage counseling centers, 3,287 social rehabilitation centers, and 35,529 other kinds of institutes.


© Omokugbo Ojeifo, 2024

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