Africa overtakes Europe in Catholic numbers, Vatican says

Africa now has more Catholics than Europe, according to the latest Church statistics released by the Vatican on Friday.

The Vatican’s news agency, Fides, compiled the figures. Africa counts 288.31 million Catholics, slightly more than Europe’s 287.24 million.

That gives Africa 20.3 per cent of the world’s Catholics against Europe’s 20.2 per cent. The lead is narrow, but it confirms a shift that has been building for decades.

Africa’s share rose from 19.9 per cent to 20.3 per cent, while Europe’s fell from 20.4 per cent to about 20.2 per cent.

Worldwide, the number of Catholics rose by 16.69 million to 1.422 billion, with growth on every continent, led by Africa (+7.58 million) and the Americas (+6.99 million).

The Americas still hold by far the largest share at 47.7 per cent, followed by Africa, Europe, Asia (11 per cent) and Oceania (0.8 per cent).

The numbers are not as current as the headline suggests. They refer to June 2024, though they were published in this year’s Fides report ahead of World Mission Sunday on October 18.

The clergy figures show the same divide. Fides recorded 407,421 priests worldwide, up by 425, the first rise in five years.

Priest numbers grew in Africa and Asia but fell in Europe, which lost 2,483. Africa was also the only continent to gain religious sisters, adding 2,190, while Europe lost 6,473.

Africa’s growth has not yet been matched by clergy, however. There are about 5,000 Catholics for every priest in Africa, against just over 1,800 in Europe.