Global Catholic population rises to 1.422 billion and number of priests increases

Published just ahead of World Mission Sunday, the 2026 Church Statistics report by the Vatican's Fides news agency revealed that the Catholic population increased on every continent and the number of priests rose, while the number of women religious and major seminarians declined.

According to the report prepared by the Vatican's Fides News Agency, the number of Catholics worldwide increased by 16.69 million to reach 1.422 billion. While population and Catholic data were based on figures as of June 30, 2024, other data were based on December 31, 2024, and compared with the year 2023. Accordingly, Catholics accounted for 17.8 percent of the global population of approximately 8 billion.

The Catholic population recorded an increase on every continent. The highest increases were seen in Africa with 7.58 million and the Americas with 6.99 million. There was an increase of 968,000 in Asia, 911,000 in Europe, and 239,000 in Oceania. The Americas remained the most populous region with 678.87 million Catholics, followed by Africa with 288.31 million, Europe with 287.24 million, Asia with 156.17 million, and Oceania with 11.56 million.

The report stated that for the first time in the last five years, there was an increase in the global number of priests, bringing the total figure to 407,421. Increases of 1,676 in Africa, 1,065 in Asia, and 199 in the Americas offset the decreases of 2,483 in Europe and 32 in Oceania. While the number of diocesan priests increased by 496 to 279,238, religious priests decreased by 71 to 128,183.

Additionally, the report recorded 5,525 bishops and 52,102 permanent deacons. While female religious personnel decreased by 9,292 to 580,131, major seminarians dropped by 2,891 to 103,604. In contrast, lay missionaries rose by 18,473 to 463,079, and catechists increased by 22,370 to 2,889,336.