Africa currently has more Catholics than Europe, according to Vatican statistics released on Friday, October 16, confirming a shift in the global Catholic Church that has been gathering pace for years.
Figures published by the Vatican’s Fides News Agency put Africa’s Catholic population at 288.3m in 2024, compared with 287.2m in Europe.
The difference is just over one million people, but the numbers tell a wider story about a Church whose fastest-growing communities are increasingly found far from its traditional European heartland.
The latest Catholic Church statistics show that the worldwide Catholic population reached 1.422bn, representing 17.8 percent of the global population.
Africa accounted for 7.58m of the 16.69m additional Catholics recorded worldwide between 2023 and 2024, more than any other continent.
Beyond Africa, the Americas recorded an increase of 6.99 million Catholics, while Asia added 968,000, Europe 911,000 and Oceania 239,000.
The dossier also recorded a slight increase in the worldwide number of priests, which rose by 425 to 407,421 in 2024.
“For the first time in five years, there is an increase in the total number of priests in the world,” the report stated.
The increase was driven by Africa, which recorded 1,676 additional priests, and Asia, which added 1,065. The Americas gained 199 priests, while Europe recorded a decline of 2,483 and Oceania lost 32.
The number of diocesan priests rose by 496 to 279,238, while religious priests declined by 71 to 128,183.
Despite the increase in priests, the average number of Catholics per priest rose by 38 to 3,491.
The Vatican report also showed a decline in the number of women religious and major seminarians worldwide.
Women religious fell by 9,292 to 580,131, with Africa the only continent to record an increase, adding 2,190. Europe recorded the largest decline, with 6,473 fewer women religious.
Major seminarians declined by 2,891 to 103,604. Africa was the only continent to record an increase, adding 786, while Asia experienced the largest drop, with 2,733 fewer major seminarians.
The number of minor seminarians also fell by 980 to 94,041.
Meanwhile, the number of lay missionaries rose by 18,473 to 463,079, while catechists increased by 22,370 to 2,889,336.
It further highlighted the Catholic Church’s global educational, healthcare and charitable activities.
According to the report, the Church operated 75,448 kindergartens, 103,666 primary schools and 51,810 secondary schools worldwide.
Its healthcare and charitable network comprised 101,110 facilities, including 5,397 hospitals and 13,646 dispensaries. Africa had the highest number of hospitals and dispensaries among the continents.
