Africa overtakes Europe in Catholic population — Vatican

The Vatican's latest statistics report indicates that Africa has overtaken Europe in terms of Catholic population. As of June 30, 2024, Africa had 288.31 million Catholics, while Europe had 287.24 million. The Americas remained the largest region with 678.87 million Catholics, followed by Asia with 156.17 million and Oceania with 11.56 million. Catholics made up 17.8% of the world's population, estimated at nearly eight billion.

The global Catholic population increased by 16.69 million to 1.422 billion, with Africa recording a 7.58 million rise. Europe added 911,000, the Americas 6.99 million, and Asia 968,000. Oceania saw a 239,000 increase.

The number of priests also saw a slight rise to 407,421 in 2024, with Africa adding 1,676 priests and Asia contributing 1,065. The Americas saw a 199 increase, while Europe experienced a decline of 2,483 and Oceania a drop of 32. Despite the growth in priests, the average number of Catholics per priest increased by 38 to 3,491.

The Church's educational, healthcare and charitable activities expanded globally. It operated 75,448 kindergartens, 103,666 primary schools and 51,810 secondary schools. Its healthcare and charitable network included 101,110 facilities, with 5,397 hospitals and 13,646 dispensaries. Africa led in hospitals and dispensaries.