Vatican Almost 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide
The number of Catholics worldwide continues to grow. According to official statistics published by the Vatican-based church news agency Fides, there are currently around 1.4 billion believers.
17.10.2024, 12:05
SDA
With the exception of Europe, the numbers are rising on all continents. The statistics were published in view of the so-called Holy Year, which will be celebrated in 2025 under Pope Francis, who hails from Argentina. Such jubilee years regularly occur every 25 years.
According to the report, the number of Catholics at the turn of the year 2022/23 was 1,389,573,000, an increase of almost 14 million compared to the previous twelve months. In Africa and the Americas in particular, there was a significant increase of 7.2 million and 5.9 million respectively. In Europe, on the other hand, there was a drop of 474,000 believers - due to resignations, deaths and fewer baptisms.
According to these figures, Catholics make up 17.7 percent of the world's population. The largest world religion is Christianity, followed by Islam and Hinduism. According to calculations by the United Nations (UN), there are currently around 8.2 billion people living in the world.
