The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2022, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms declined, according to Vatican statistics.
At the end of 2022, the number of Catholics in the world reached 1.389 billion, up 0.79% from 1.378 billion Catholics at the end of 2021, according to the Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics.
By contrast, the United Nations estimated the world’s population increased by 0.83% over the same period to a total of just over 8 billion people at the end of 2022, marking the first time it passed that milestone.
The Vatican agency, Fides, published a brief overview of the global numbers Oct. 17.
The Vatican’s statistical yearbook cautioned that its numbers were based on the information it received back from its surveys and that not all jurisdictions sent information. Mainland China, for example, had missing data throughout the yearbook. The number of Catholics “does not include those in countries that because of their present situation have not been included in the survey,” it said, adding that it estimated that number to be about an additional 5 million Catholics.
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With thanks to National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and Carol Glatz, where this article originally appeared.
