Overview of the
Church's presence worldwide
Statisticum Ecclesiae of 2007, compiled by the Central Office for
Statistics of the Church and published by the Vatican Publishing House,
has recently been presented.
In comparison with the Annuario Pontificio, the
Pontifical Year Book, in which names and biographies take pride of
place, the Statistical Year Book provides a quantitative overview of the
principal numerical dynamics of the Catholic Church in the various
countries and continents.
As they are every year, the data are provided with
captions in Latin, English and French.
We publish as follows information on certain basic
aspects of the Catholic Church from 2000-2007.
In the past eight years, the presence of baptized people
in the world has remained more or less stable at around 17.3%. There
seem to have been some signs of recovery in 2007, with the number of
Catholics growing at a slightly higher rate (9.72%) than that of the
world population in the same period (9.42%). The presence of Catholics
has therefore risen to 17.33%, from 17.29% in the previous year. In fact
in 2007, there were approximately 1,147 million Catholics in absolute
terms in comparison with the approximately 1,045 million in 2000. The
contribution of the various geographical areas to the overall data
remains somewhat varied.
Although Europe is home to almost 25% of the world's
Catholic community it stands out as the least dynamic area with an
increase in the number of the faithful of only a little more than 1%.
The presence of the faithful on the continent is stable at around 40%,
with a negligible improvement in comparison with the previous year and
with the fact that the demographic dynamic in the same period exceeds
the number of Catholics by a few decimal points. In Italy, Poland and
Spain, the incidence of baptized Catholics exceeds 93% of the resident
With reference to the entire period —2000-2007 — the
number of baptized faithful in America and Oceania has increased less
than that of the population (9.5% and 10.1% respectively), whereas the
contrary is true on the Continent of Asia. In terms of the ratio of the
faithful to the total population, the continent of Asia remained more or
less the same in 2007, with a tendency to a gradual consolidation in
comparison with the statistics of 2000.
Africa remains without any doubt the continent which has
the greatest growth in the number of Catholics. Indeed, the number of
baptized faithful in Africa (in 2007, more than 164 million) increased
by almost 27%, a rate slightly more than double that in the Asian
countries, superior by far to the demographic growth in the same period.
From 2000 to 2007, the number of Bishops in the world
rose from 4,541 to 4,946 with an increase of 8.92%. Asia has been
confirmed as the most dynamic continent ( + 16.75%), followed by Oceania
( + 10.74%), but with the smallest proportion of the total, by Africa (
+ 9.32%) and by America ( + 8.97%). Only Europe remains below the
overall average ( + 5.28%). The distribution across the various areas
remained virtually unchanged in the period, with America and Europe
alone continuing to represent almost 70% of the total.
Over and above the number
of Bishops in the various areas and the dynamic of their development,
information on the "workload" that may be attributed to each Bishop
remains crucial for an evaluation of their adequacy. An estimate of this
"burden" in the various geographical areas is obtained from the
relationship between the number of priests and the number of Bishops.
The trend of a gradual but continuous erosion of the pastoral duties
attributed to Bishops has been confirmed. From a ratio of almost 90
priests per Bishop in 2000 their numbers have dwindled to about 82
priests per Bishop, with the result of a more equal and perhaps
effective division of tasks among the various categories of pastoral
Number of priests/
Number of Bishops
After 20 years of a somewhat disappointing performance,
the population of priests, both diocesan and religious, is continuing to
show overall a trend of positive but fairly moderate growth, which was
however less than 1% in the period of 2000-2007.
The number of priests, in fact, has increased in the
course of the past eight years, rising from 405,178 in 2000 to 408,024
in 2007. The overall statistics, however, have proven to be of little
importance in the light of obvious regional disparities. While Africa
and Asia show a fairly sustained dynamic (respectively + 27.58% and +
21.20%) and America has remained almost stationary, in the same period
Europe, with the greatest proportion out of the total, and Oceania
recorded on the contrary decisively negative growth rates, respectively
of – 6.84% and – 5.48%.
Then, looking at the
difference between diocesan and religious priests, a clear divergence
appears in the growth of the two categories of working priests. In
comparison with the former, who are recording a growth of 2.5%, thus
increasing from 265,81 in 2000 to 272,431 in 2007, the latter are
constantly diminishing (– 2.73%), with slightly over 135,000 in 2007.
Furthermore, in addition to
their dwindling numbers in Europe, borne out by the overall statistics,
there is also a significant downward trend in the number of religious
priests on the American continent, where they decreased in number from
more than 45,000 in 2000 to less than 42,000 in 2007.
In terms of the percentage
rate, there is a downward trend in the number of priests only in Europe:
in 2000 they represented more than 51% of the world total and their
percentage fell to less than 48% in 2007, with a decrease of almost four
On the other hand, in
comparison with the clearly downward trend in Western Europe, an
outstanding dynamic is recorded in certain Eastern European countries,
and most of all in Poland. Despite the evident decline in their numbers
in Italy, France and Spain, in 2007 these countries still represented
almost 50% of the total number of European priests. Of these, about half
may be attributed to Italy alone. On the other hand, Asia and Africa are
improving their positions: in 2007 together they represented 21% of the
total (up from 17.5% eight years earlier).
In Africa in particular the
relative proportion of priests is such that four African countries
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda
together account for almost 50% of the total number.
The Democratic Republic of
the Congo has the greatest number of priests: in 2007 it had 16% of all
African priests. America and Oceania have tended to maintain their rate
essentially constant over time, although it is very different in
quantity: the former remained at around 30% whereas the latter is
continuing to represent only a little more than 1%.
The population of permanent deacons, both diocesan and
religious, is continuing to show a significant and encouraging dynamic
of development. While deacons are still limited in absolute terms, in
2007 they increased by more than 29% in comparison with their number
eight years earlier, rising from 26,824 to 35,942. The number of deacons
is increasing in all the areas at an astonishing rate.
In Oceania, where deacons
do not yet account for 1% of the total, they have increased by more than
50%, reaching the number of 272 in 2007. However, they are also
increasing in areas where they are more numerous. In America and in
Europe, where in 2007 about 98% of the overall population of deacons
lived, they increased in number during the period under examination,
respectively by 26.8% and 34.4%. In America they are concentrated above
all in North America.
Non-ordained male religious
The downward trend in the
number of professed men religious who are not priests that seemed to
have come to a halt in 2006 has instead continued.
There were 55,057 in the
world in the year 2000 and in 2007 this figure had fallen to 54,956.
Clearly diminishing in Europe (– 13.82%) and in Oceania (– 15.80%),
stationary in America, there was a significant increase in the number of
professed religious who are not priests in Asia ( + 31%) and in Africa (
+ 9.16%), where their ratio out of the world total continues to
The number of non-ordained
religious on the two latter continents, in fact, is exceeding the
percentage present in America. In Asia growth rates exceeding the
average are recorded in Singapore, Vietnam, India and the Philippines,
whereas in Africa this sector is growing at a sustained pace in
Cameroon, Chad, Ghana and Tanzania. Europe continues to maintain the
highest relative ratio (31.0 %) but this percentage is clearly
diminishing. We point out, as a counter trend in comparison with this
continent's average, the good performance of Ukraine, Romania and
Hungary, and also of Austria in Western Europe.
The population of professed women religious is also
passing through a profound transformation. Professed religious, of whom
there are almost twice as many as there are priests and 14 times as many
as the number of professed men religious who are not priests, are
currently clearly decreasing.
At a global level their
number has fallen from more than 800,000 in 2000 to less than 450,000
eight years later. As for their geographical distribution, almost 42%
live in Europe. More than 60% of European women religious live in three
countries: France, Spain and Italy. Italy alone accounts for 30% of the
total number of women religious on the old continent.
America follows with 27.65%
(homogenously distributed in the two hemispheres) and Asia, with just
over 21%. In terms of development, professed women religious have
increased on the most dynamic continents, Africa (+ 17.69%) and Asia ( +
14.83%) in the face of a decrease in the other areas. Consequently, if
in the year 2000 professed women religious resident in Europe and
America amounted to almost three quarters of the world total, in 2007
they accounted for less than 70%.
Candidates to the priesthood
Comforting news continues
to arrive from an examination of the development in time and place of
candidates to the priesthood. Philosophy and theology students present
in the diocesan and religious seminaries provide an indication of the
potential of priestly vocations. The number of candidates to the
priesthood in the world has increased by 4.83%, from 110,583 in 2000 to
almost 16,000 in 2007.
This increase is largely
attributable to Africa and Asia, with respective growth rates of 21.32%
and 20.35%. In Europe there a counter trend which shows dwindling
potential in the number of vocations of more than 17%. The number of
vocations is falling steeply in Belgium and Spain, among others, but
also in Eastern Europe where Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia
are recording decreases of more than 40%.
Consequently, a decrease in
the role of the European continent in the potential growth of the
renewal of priestly structures has been observed, with a rate that has
fallen from 24% to just over 19%.
On the other hand, the
number of candidates to the priesthood seems destined to increase in
Africa and Asia, continents on which reside future generations destined
to be involved in pastoral activity. In Africa about 36% of the total of
candidates to the priesthood live in two countries: Nigeria and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, while India and the Philippines
overall represent almost 70% of the total of future Asian recruits.
America maintains a rate equal to about 32%, whereas Oceania represents
barely 0.85% of the total, which is however an increasing rate.