Catholic Church statistics for 2026

The FIDES news agency released recent statistics for the Catholic Church based on the 2026 Pontifical Yearbook. The data shows that Africa now has more Catholic faithful than Europe for the first time.

The global Catholic population reached 1,422,144,000, representing 17.8% of the world's population. This reflects an annual increase of 16,690,000 Catholics. Regional increases included 7,580,000 in Africa, 6,992,000 in the Americas, 968,000 in Asia, 239,000 in Oceania, and 911,000 in Europe.

The Americas have 678,864,000 Catholics, making up 64% of the regional population. Africa has 288,312,000 Catholics, or 19.9% of its population, while Europe has 287,249,000 Catholics, or 39.7%. Asia has 156,166,000 Catholics, representing 3.3% of the population, and Oceania has 11,557,000 Catholics, or 25.8%. Africa is the only continent showing an increase in nuns and candidates for the priesthood.