The Church today
Catholics around the world
How many Catholics there are, where they live and how the Church is growing, from the Vatican's own yearly count of the baptized.
Catholics in the world, 2026 count
1,405,454,000
Out of a world population of 7,995,573,000. The Vatican's official count, published in 2026, counting Catholics as of June 30, 2024.
- Added in the latest year
- +16,690,000
- compared with the year before
- Share of the world
- 17.8%
- almost 18 in every 100 people
The Church counts its members once a year, so this number changes once a year, when the Vatican publishes its next count. About these numbers
Where Catholics live
Almost half of the world's Catholics live in the Americas. In 2024, for the first time, more Catholics lived in Africa than in Europe.
Circles are sized by the number of Catholics on each continent, in millions (2024).
The Americas
678.9 million
Catholics
- Of the world's Catholics
- 47.7%
- People there who are Catholic
- 64.0%
- Growth since 2020
- +3.9%
Africa
288.3 million
Catholics
- Of the world's Catholics
- 20.3%
- People there who are Catholic
- 19.9%
- Growth since 2020
- +12.3%
Europe
287.2 million
Catholics
- Of the world's Catholics
- 20.2%
- People there who are Catholic
- 39.7%
- Growth since 2020
- +0.3%
Asia
156.2 million
Catholics
- Of the world's Catholics
- 11.0%
- People there who are Catholic
- 3.3%
- Growth since 2020
- +2.8%
Oceania
11.6 million
Catholics
- Of the world's Catholics
- 0.8%
- People there who are Catholic
- 25.9%
- Growth since 2020
- +5.7%
A growing Church
From 1.02 billion in 1998 to 1.42 billion in 2024: about 40% more Catholics, growing roughly in step with the world's population.
Catholics worldwide, by year
Baptized Catholics in the Vatican's yearly count. Hover a point to see the number.
Growth by continent, 2020 to 2024
Africa grew fastest, adding more Catholics than any other continent.
- Africa+12.3%
+31.5 million Catholics
- Oceania+5.7%
+0.6 million Catholics
- The Americas+3.9%
+25.2 million Catholics
- Asia+2.8%
+4.3 million Catholics
- Europe+0.3%
+0.9 million Catholics
The Church at work
Behind the population count are the people and places that serve it, from parish priests to schools and hospitals.
13,065,918
Baptisms in 2024
Four in ten were in the Americas, three in ten in Africa.
407,421
Priests
The first rise in five years, led by Africa and Asia.
5,525
Bishops
Shepherding 3,047 dioceses and other Church territories.
2,889,336
Catechists
Lay people who teach the faith in parishes and missions.
103,666
Catholic primary schools
Teaching more than 36 million children.
5,397
Catholic hospitals
Part of 101,110 health and charity centers run by the Church.
Live from our visitors
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About these numbers
Every figure on this page comes from the Holy See's Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae, the Church's yearly book of statistics, as published by Agenzia Fides and Vatican News. It counts baptized Catholics reported by every diocese in the world. The latest edition covers 2024.
The number at the top of this page is the Vatican's official count, published in 2026. The Church counts its members once a year, so we show that count as it is and update it when the Vatican publishes the next one.
Counts up to 2022 are as of December 31; the 2023 and 2024 counts are as of June 30. The 2014 and 2017 figures are worked out from the following year's count and the increase reported with it.
- Agenzia Fides, Catholic Church Statistics 2026 (data to 2024)
- Vatican News, Annuario Pontificio 2026 and Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2024
- Agenzia Fides, Catholic Church Statistics 2025 (data to 2023)
- Agenzia Fides, Appendix: data 1998 to 2022
- Agenzia Fides, Catholic Church Statistics 2022 (data to 2020)