Vatican figures show global increase in Catholics, especially strong growth in Africa

people raising their hands up — Fallon Michael / Unsplash

The number of Catholics is increasing again worldwide, according to new figures from the Vatican press agency Fides. The Catholic Church can also count on more priests, but the number of religious and seminarians has decreased. Especially in Africa, the number of Catholics is growing strongly.

The increase in the number of priests is small, with 496, but it is notable. For the first time in five years, the total number has increased. The number of Catholics rose by more than 16 million to 1.4 billion, according to figures for 2024 compared to 2023.

As usual, the Vatican published the figures in the lead-up to World Mission Sunday on October 18.

Catholics make up nearly twenty percent of the world population, the report shows. The increase occurred in every continent. Africa shows the largest increase with 7.5 million between 2023 and 2024. In Europe, Fides registered more than 900,000 new Catholics. Africa now has more Catholics than Europe in total.

Relatively speaking, North and South America have the largest number of Catholics. In 2024, there were more than 670 million members of the Catholic Church residing there.

The growth is not visible in all sectors of the Church. Both the number of male and female religious decreased. Only in Africa was there an increase in religious. Europe faced the largest decline. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of religious decreased by nearly 6,500.

The number of seminarians decreased everywhere, except in Africa, where it rose slightly by 786. Asia showed the largest decrease. Other groups, such as the number of lay missionaries and catechists, also increased during the relevant period.

According to Fides, the Catholic Church remains a significant social player. The report states that the Church manages over 75,000 kindergartens, more than 100,000 primary schools, and around 50,000 secondary schools. The Catholic Church also runs more than 5,000 hospitals worldwide.