Catholic Population Grows, Clergy Shrinks: Vatican Data Signals Shifting Global Dynamics

Catholic Population Grows, Clergy Shrinks: Vatican Data Signals Shifting Global Dynamics

(Analysis) The Vatican’s 2025 Pontifical Yearbook and Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae reveal that the global Catholic population rose by 1.15% between 2022 and 2023, reaching 1.406 billion. This growth outpaced the world’s overall population increase of 0.88% for the same period. However, the data also show a decline in the number of priests and seminarians, signaling […]

55.4% of the Spanish population declared themselves Catholic, according to the data of the last barometer of the Sociological Research Center (CIS), carried out in April 2025. 60 years ago, the percentage was 98%, according to a survey on religious attitudes carried out in 1965 by the same body. In the last barometer, 18.8% of respondents declared to be practicing, while 36.6% declared to be non-practicing Catholic. This graph is part of the #En…

Brazil ranks first with 105.3 million faithful, followed by Mexico (91.2 million), the Philippines (86 million) and the United States (67 million)