Vatican Statistics

The Latest

Pope Francis arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Jan. 31, 2023. The streets of the pope’s five-mile drive from the N’Dolo Airport to the presidential residence were lined with thousands of locals who cheered and waved flags.

Vatican statistics: Africa had biggest increase in Catholics, while numbers fell in Europe

Oct 24, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Catholics in the world numbered 1,375,852,000 people at the end of 2021, with an overall increase of 16.2 million compared... Read more

St. Peter’s Basilica seen through a bubble on Dec. 3, 2019.

Vatican: Number of Catholics worldwide rose by 16 million in 2020

Feb 11, 2022

The Church grew most rapidly in Asia and Africa. Read more

Catholics attend Mass in Ho, Ghana.

Number of Catholics in Asia and Africa continues to rise

Oct 21, 2021

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Catholic Church grew by 15 million people worldwide in 2019. Read more

St. Peter’s Basilica seen through a bubble on Dec. 3, 2019.

World Mission Sunday: number of Catholics continues to rise worldwide

Oct 16, 2020

The number of Catholics worldwide increased by almost 16 million in a year to 1.33 billion, according to statistics highlighted... Read more

CNA

Vatican stats show continued growth in Africa, Asia

May 13, 2013

Vatican statistics released today show that the number of Asian and African Catholics is continuing its upward trajectory, while the... Read more