Oct 18, 2025
3 min read
The Vatican has announced the statistics of the missionary church in the country in 2023.
On June 30, 2023, the world population was 7,78,000, showing an increase of 75,639,000 compared to the previous year.
Positive data
The number of Catholics reached 1,405,454,000 faithful, an increase of 15,881,000 compared to the previous year.The proportion of Catholics in the world population is slightly (+0.1%) and stands at 17.8%.
Permanent deacons also increased 1,234, reaching a total of 51,433.
The number of lay missionaries increased by 31,320 to reach 444,606 worldwide.
In turn, catechists increased by 17,384, adding a total of 2,866,966.
In the field of education, the number of churches run 228 kindergartens, and the number of students increased by 16,571.
The latest figures show there are 122,777 mission stations, up from 126,549 last year.
Negative knowledge
With an average of 15,918 Catholics per priest, each priest must now faithfully serve 236 more people than last year.
El número total de sacerdotes en el mundo continúa disminuyendo desde hace seis años, situándose en 406.996, es decir, 734 menos que el año anterior.
The number of non-priests also decreased, down by 666, for a total of 48,748.
Likewise, the number of key seminaries, both Dioxan and religious, decreased by 106,495 percent to 108,481 last year.
Other interesting information
The number of bishops worldwide has increased to 5430.The number of diocesan bishops increased (+84), religious bishops decreased (-7).In total there are 4258 diocesan bishops and 1172 religious.
Currently, seven million people are studying Catholic education, from high schools to universities.
La Iglesia administra en el mundo 103.951 instituciones sanitarias y asistenciales, entre las que se incluyen 5.377 hospitales, 13.895 dispensarios, 504 leproserías, 15.566 casas para ancianos, enfermos crónicos y discapacitados, 8.593 orfanatos, 10.858 escuelas infantiles, 10.827 consultorios matrimoniales, 3.147 centros de educación o reeducación social y 35.184 instituciones de otros tipos.
