How Many Catholics Are There in the World? The Catholic Church Reaches a Record of 1,422 Billion. These Are the Data from the 2026 Pontifical Yearbook

(ZENIT News – OMPress / Rome, 03.30.2026).- The 2026 edition of the Pontifical Yearbook, the official publication that compiles the organizational structure, institutions, and members of the Church both in Rome and worldwide, has just been released. The percentage of Catholics worldwide remains stable at around 17.8%, totalling 1,422 billion Catholics.

The 2026 Pontifical Yearbook and the 2024 Statistical Yearbook of the Church, compiled by the Central Statistics Office of the Vatican Secretariat of State, are now available in bookstores, published by the Vatican Printing Press. Some of the data from this Yearbook were published on Saturday, March 28, by L’Osservatore Romano. Among the 2025 data, in addition to the number of Catholics, it is noted that six Episcopal Sees have been elevated to Metropolitan Sees and eight new Dioceses have been erected.

The Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae, based on and running parallel to the Pontifical Yearbook, reports on the numerical aspects that characterize the activity of the Catholic Church in different countries and on each continent. Some statistical data relating to the biennium 2023-2024 indicate that, over the last two years, the presence of baptized Catholics in the world has remained stable at around 17.8%, as a result of the increase, during the same period, in the number of Catholics at a rate substantially similar to that of the world population.

In 2024, there were slightly more than 1.422 billion Catholics, compared to approximately 1.406 billion in 2023, representing a relative variation of 1.14%. Regarding the people dedicated to apostolate activities, it is indicated that at the end of 2024 it amounted to 4,464,622, with a variation of +0.7% compared to the same date in 2023.

The most recent data, corresponding to 2024, indicates that the number of clergy worldwide has risen to 465,048, with 5,525 bishops, 407,421 priests, and 52,102 permanent deacons. The number of priests worldwide increased by 425, from 406,996 in 2023 to 407,421 in 2024. However, when analyzing diocesan and religious priests separately, it is observed that, in contrast to a fundamental stability in the number of religious priests, diocesan priests registered a numerical increase of 496. The number of permanent deacons increased significantly. The increase during the 2023-2024 period was 1.3% worldwide. In 2024 there were 52,102, compared to the 51,433 registered in 2023.

The number of non-priest professed religious belonging to Institutes of Pontifical Right and of Diocesan Right, was 48,511 at the end of 2024. Of these, 9,368 were in Africa, 12,484 in America, 12,962 in Asia, 12,831 in Europe, and 866 in Oceania. Compared to 2023, this group decreased by 0.5% worldwide. The decline affected America, Europe, and Oceania, while Africa and Asia registered an increase.

Professed women religious represented a total of 589,423 in 2024, of which 30.9% were in Europe, followed by Asia with almost 176,000. America had 133,000 consecrated women, and Africa had more than 87,000. Members of Secular Institutes (male and female), totalling 18,177 people at the end of 2024, experienced a 1.8% decrease compared to 2023. The decrease was recorded in Europe, America, Asia and Oceania, while it increased in Africa (+1.5%).

The number of lay missionaries increased from 444,606 in 2023 to 463,079 in 2024, a rise of 4.2%. Catechists constituted the largest group, totaling 2.9 million people by the end of 2024.

The number of new Baptisms worldwide was 13,065,918 in 2024, a decrease of 0.6% compared to 2023. The number of Catholic marriages celebrated in 2024 with religious rites between Catholic faithful amounted to 1,818,998. The number of faithful worldwide who received the Sacrament of First Communion during 2024 was 9,194,143, a change of 1.1% compared to 2023. There was also a 1.7% increase in the number of people who received the Sacrament of Confirmation (7,823 in 2024 and 7,693,726 in 2023).