Nuns, priests in Third World lead growth as West falters

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The proportion of Catholic priests and nuns in Africa and Asia rose markedly over the last decade, while Europe’s share continued to diminish, according to official Vatican statistics released Saturday (Feb. 20). Among the figures in the 2010 Pontifical Yearbook: — Over a nine-year period from 2000 to 2008, the number of […]

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The proportion of Catholic priests and nuns in Africa and Asia rose markedly over the last decade, while Europe’s share continued to diminish, according to official Vatican statistics released Saturday (Feb. 20).

Among the figures in the 2010 Pontifical Yearbook:

— Over a nine-year period from 2000 to 2008, the number of priests around the world increased by 1 percent, to a total of 409,166. European priests (who made up 51.5 percent of the total at the start of the decade) ended 2008 as a minority for the first time, at 47.1 percent. The next largest group was found in the Americas (30 percent), followed by Asia (13.2 percent), Africa (8.7 percent) and Oceania (1.2 percent).


— In the same nine-year period, the number of religious sisters dropped by 17.6 percent in Europe, 12.9 percent in the Americas and 14.9 percent in Oceania, while rising by 21.2 percent in Africa and 16.4 percent in Asia. The number of sisters worldwide dropped by 7.8 percent, to a total of 739,067.

— From 2007 to 2008, the number of male seminarians increased by about 1 percent, to 117,024. Regionally, their numbers rose by 3.6 percent in Africa, 4.4 percent in Asia and 6.5 percent in Oceania, while dropping by 4.3 percent in Europe and remaining stable in the Americas.

— The total number of Catholics increased by 1.7 percent, to 1.166 billion in the same year, raising the Catholic share of the world’s population slightly, from 17.33 percent to 17.4 percent.

The Catholic Church remains the world’s largest Christian body, but according to a previous Vatican report, its adherents have been outnumbered by Muslims since 2006.

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