The number of Catholics worldwide increased by 14 million in 2022 to 1.390b, according to Vatican’s 2022 Statistical Yearbook released early this year.
According to the report, the number of baptized Catholics has increased by about 1% from 1.376 billion in 2021 to 1.390 billion in 2022.
The Church also shows signs of growth in Africa and Asia. Africa had the highest increase in Catholics at 3%, while the Americas recorded a 0.9% increase and Asia a 0.6% increase.
The number of Catholics in Europe remained at about 286 million from 2021 to 2022.
The number of priests continues to grow in Africa and Asia. According to the report, the number of priests in Africa and Asia increased by 3.2% and 1.6%, respectively, while the number remained steady in the Americas. Oceania saw a 1.5% decrease in priests, while Europe had a 1.7% decrease.
There are also fewer seminarians worldwide. According to the Vatican numbers, there were 1.3% fewer men preparing for priesthood in 2022 than in 2021. But Africa saw a 2.1% increase in the number of seminarians, while Oceania had a notable 1.3% increase.
The number of bishops from 2021 to 2022 increased by a quarter, from 5,340 to 5,353 bishops, with most of the growth centered in Africa and Asia.
The number of professed religious men — not including priests — decreased by 360, from 49,774 in 2021 to 49,414 in 2022.
Asia and the Americas were the only regions where religious vocations for men increased, with the most substantial increase in Asia.
While there are more religious women than priests by almost 50%, the number of religious women is also declining. According to the most recent data from 2021 to 2022, their numbers have declined by 1.6% — meaning almost 10,000 fewer religious sisters worldwide.
But Africa had the largest increase in religious women at 1.7%, increasing by more than 1,000 vocations. Southeast Asia’s numbers also reflected a small increase of 0.1% — almost 200 more religious women.