ANNUARIUM SATISTICUM ECCLESIAE
ShareANNUARIUM SATISTICUM ECCLESIAE: Published for 2000
L'Osservatore Romano
1. The Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae with Church statistics for 2000 was recently presented to the press. The Central Office for Statistics of the Church compiles it and it is published by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
This book gives a picture of the mostimportant data concerning the Catholic Church, enabling one to assess from varied viewpoints the changing characteristics of pastoral activity from 1978 to 2000, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Among other things, the analysis will shed light on the profound territorial differences in the composition per continent that have occurred during the Pontificate of John Paul II.
2. The number of baptized faithful across the world has grown gradually from 757 million in 1978 to 1,045 million in 2000, with an increase of about 38%. Since this increase is lower than the increase in the world population, the relative number of baptized Catholics has diminished, if only slightly: from 18.0 Catholics per 100 inhabitants in 1978, to 17.3 in 2000 (Table 1).
Table 1 - Catholics in 1978,1988 and 2000:
geographical distribution per 100 inhabitants - variations of the population per continent
CONTINENT
Catholic Faithful (Baptized)
In thousands
Per 100 of the total
Per 100 inhabitants
Percent
variation
1978-2000
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
AFRICA
54,759
81,883
130,018
7.24
9.13
12.44
12.37
13.73
16.47
137.44
AMERICA
366,614
444,422
519,391
48.46
49.55
49.70
62.22
63.50
62.84
41.67
ASIA
63,183
84,302
107,301
8.35
9.40
10.27
2.53
2.78
2.90
69.83
EUROPE
266,361
279,401
280,144
35.21
31.15
26.81
40.53
41.14
39.87
5.17
OCEANIA
5,616
6,870
8,202
0.74
0.77
0.78
25.30
26.83
26.83
46.05
WORLD
756,533
896,878
1,045,056
100.00
100.00
100.00
17.99
17.82
17.28
38.14
However, if the world trend over the past 22 years has not substantially changed, the situation on the different continents has. In some, the relative increases between 1978 and 2000 are conspicuous, whilst in others it is more contained. Africa shows the greatest increase (137.4%); Asia (especially in the Middle East) comes next with (69.4%); at the other end of the scale, Europe shows the smallest increase of (5.8%).
Of particular interest to us is the interpretation of the data, continent by continent, on the relative number of Catholics in relation to the population: a quotient that provides the number of faithful per 100 inhabitants. These figures show how baptized Catholics differ radically in the various geographical areas as follows: Catholics number 62.8% of the population of America, 40% in Europe and 2.9% in Asia. It is important to stress that variations within the American area itself are greater: if, in North America the percentage of Catholics is only 24.6%, in central and continental America it is (90.1%) and in South America (86.6%) the number of Catholics is far higher. A diachronic interpretation of the quotients enables us to pick out the different trends in the various geographical areas from 1978 and which vary only slightly. However, if the number of Catholics throughout the world is dwindling slightly in every area—with the exception of Europe—the overall trend shows slow growth.
3. In the 22 years from 1978 to 2000 the number of bishops has increased from 3,714 to 4,541, with a relative growth that reaches 22% (Table 2). However, the increases are very different from the geographical viewpoint. If we calculate the average linear increase, we notice the different consistency of the phenomenon in the various parts of the globe: in decreasing order it goes from the maximum value of 1.78% for Africa, to the minimum for Europe of 0.89% (other values: Oceania 1.31%, Asia 0.94%, America 0.90%).
It is therefore clear that Africa and Oceania have registered a reasonable increase in comparison with other areas, but the trends over time can be of more interest than these global figures.
Table 2 - Bishops in 1978,1988 and 2000:
geographical distribution and numerical variations
CONTINENT
Bishops
Percentage
of variation
1978-2000
Number
Per 100 of the total
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
AFRICA
432
487
601
11.63
11.80
13.23
39.12
AMERICA
1,416
1,589
1,695
38.13
38.51
37.33
19.70
ASIA
519
578
627
13.97
14.01
13.81
20.81
EUROPE
1,253
1,365
1,497
33.74
33.08
32.97
19.47
OCEANIA
94
107
121
2.53
2.59
2.66
28.72
WORLD
3,714
4,126
4,541
100.00
100.00
100.00
22.27
The dynamics of the period under examination ensure that in comparison with 1978, the distribution of bishops in the different areas has remained more or less the same. In particular, the whole of America represents 37.3% of all bishops, followed by Europe with 33%, Asia with 13.8%, Africa with 13.2% and Oceania with 2.7%.
It is also interesting to note the number of priests (both diocesan and religious) per bishop, calculated so as to give a rough idea of the balance between these numbers and the individual continental situations. If this ratio has grown throughout the world in the course of time (113.3 priests per bishop in 1978 and 89 priests in 2000), this can be ascribed above all to the sharp decline in Europe (from 199.9 in 1978 to 139 in 2000).
4. A glance at Table 3 enables us to come to certain conclusions on the numerical variation of priests, diocesan and religious, on the different continents as time has passed.
In 2000, priests numbered 405,178, of these 265,781 were diocesan and 139,397 religious, with a decrease of 3.75% in 1978, the result of a decrease of 12.04% among the diocesan clergy and an increase of 1.26% among religious priests. It can also be seen that the incidence of diocesan and religious priests has not significantly changed in time, and in the three years under review, the figures have been very close to 66% for diocesan priests and 34% for religious priests.
Table 3 - Diocesan or religious priests in 1978, 1988, and 2000 per continent and numerical variations
CONTINENT
Priests
1978
1988
2000
Percent variation 1978-2000
Diocesan
Religious
Total
Diocesan
Religious
Total
Diocesan
Religious
Total
Diocesan
Religious
Total
AFRICA
5,507
11,419
16,926
9,184
10,085
19,269
16,962
10,203
27,165
208.01
-10.65
60.49
AMERICA
66,084
54,187
120,271
68,414
50,989
119,403
75,121
45,720
120,841
13.68
-15.63
0.47
ASIA
13,863
13,837
27,700
17,789
14,502
32,291
25,716
17,850
43,566
85.50
29.00
57.28
EUROPE
174,175
76,323
250,498
159,033
69,413
228,446
145,268
63,391
208,659
-16.60
-16.94
-16.70
OCEANIA
2,856
2,720
5,576
2,779
2,669
5,448
2,714
2,233
4,947
-4.97
-17.90
-11.28
WORLD
262,485
158,486
420,971
257,199
147,658
404,857
265,781
139,397
405,178
1.26
-12.04
-3.75
Let us start with the latter whose numbers, apart from an exceptional increase such as occurred in Asia, are generally on the decline.
The number of diocesan priests, on the other hand, shows an upward trend: here the areas where they are decreasing are the exception in a general pattern of growth. It is worth pointing out the case of Africa and Asia, where the trend in growth is considerable and steady.
Let us now consider the distribution of diocesan and religious priests per area and thenumber of Catholics entrusted to the pastoral care of each one.
In view of the 51.5% of the total number of priests who belong to the European region, 30.0% are of the American clergy; then come the other areas with 10.8% for Asia, 6.7% for Africa and 1.2% for Oceania.
Let us look more closely at the trends in time per continent and per category of clergy. In Europe the diocesan priests are gradually decreasing, whereas the decrease in the number of religious priests is slighter. The trends in Africa, Asia, America and Oceania are different: more or less consistent increases can be seen here, in the number both of religious and diocesan priests.
With regard to the number of Catholics per priest, the worldwide trend cannot but increase, because of the differential of demographic growth among the various zones: thus there has been an increase from 1,797 to 2,215 and 2,579 respectively for the years 1978, 1988 and 2000. Again, the geographical differences are remarkable: from a little under 1,700 Catholics per priest in Oceania to 4,298 in America and 4,786 in Africa.
5. Bishops and priests are naturally assisted in their pastoral activity by other people who work with them; we devote the following observations to their analysis.
Meanwhile, to have an idea of the size of the groups, we note that in 2000 diocesan and religious permanent deacons accounted for half of the professed religious who were not priests (55,000 in 2000) and that in turn, the number of these was 14.5 times less than the number of professed women religious (Tables 4, 5 and 6).
Table 4 – Permanent deacons in 1978, 1988, and 2000:
Their geographical distribution and numerical variations
Permanent deacons (diocesan and religious)
CONTINENT
Number
Per 100 of the total
Percentageof variation
1978-2000
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
AFRICA
91
235
361
1.64
1.50
1.30
296.70
AMERICA
4,239
11,489
18,342
76.21
73.24
65.92
332.70
ASIA
52
81
128
0.93
0.52
0.46
146.15
EUROPE
1,133
3,781
8,813
20.37
24.10
31.67
677.85
OCEANIA
47
100
180
0.85
0.64
0.65
282.98
WORLD
5,562
15,686
27,824
100.00
100.00
100.00
400.25
Permanent deacons make up the group that has developed the most in the period: their numbers overall have quintupled on all the continents with a relative increase of 400.25%. This increase occurred in all the continental areas. In Europe, permanent deacons increased by 678%, in America by 333%, in Africa by 297% and in Oceania by 283%.
Professed religious brothers are a group that is steadily decreasing throughout the world: 75,802 were listed in 1978 and in 2000 there were only 55,057. This decrease however, can be ascribed, in order of importance, to the group of Oceania, to that of Europe and to that of America, whereas, conversely, in Africa and in Asia a certain rise in the number of these workers is becoming apparent. These trends have ensured that their respective numbers on the various continents are gradually changing as can be seen from the percentages shown in Table 5.
Table 5 - Professed Religious (non-priests) in 1978, 1988, and 2000:
their geographical distribution and numerical variations
CONTINENT
Professed Religious non-priests
Number
Percentage of the total
Percentage
of variation
1978-2000
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
AFRICA
5,248
5,495
7,256
6.92
8.49
13.18
38.26
AMERICA
23,747
19,516
16,615
31.33
30.17
30.18
-30.03
ASIA
6,508
6,391
7,659
8.59
9.88
13.91
17.69
EUROPE
37,104
30,681
21,691
48.95
47.43
39.40
-41.54
OCEANIA
3,195
2,603
1,836
4.21
4.02
3.33
-42.54
WORLD
75,802
64,686
55,057
100.00
100.00
100.00
-27.37
Let us now look at the variations of professed women religious who constitute a substantial group of pastoral workers: in 1978, they were under a million. This group also decreased visibly in the period under consideration, dropping from 991,000 at the beginning of the period, to 801,000 at the end, with a relative decrease of 19% in 22 years. Once again, the profound difference on the various continents must be pointed out: while Oceania, Europe and America are experiencing a continuous, progressive reduction of these groups, in Asia and in Africa the population is steadily growing. The incidence of the various continents on the total is practically the same (in 1978 and 2000) in America and in Oceania; on the other hand, the percentage in Europe has dropped from 55% to 46%, while in Asia it has risen from 9% to 17%, and the percentage of professed African women religious has grown from 3.6% to 6.6% (Table 6).
Table 6 - Professed religious in 1978, 1988 and 2000:
their geographical distribution and numerical variations
CONTINENT
Professed religious
Number
Percentage of the total
Percentage
of variation
1978-2000
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
AFRICA
35,473
40,789
52,583
3.58
4.53
6.56
48.23
AMERICA
300,489
269,967
232,986
30.33
30.01
29.08
-22.46
ASIA
91,585
109,540
138,195
9.24
12.18
17.25
50.89
EUROPE
546,029
465,273
366,326
55.11
51.72
45.72
-32.91
OCEANIA
17,192
14,075
11,095
1.74
1.56
1.38
-35.46
WORLD
990,768
899,644
801,185
100.00
100.00
100.00
-19.13
It is also interesting to look at the variations in other categories of pastoral workers, namely: catechists, lay missionaries and the members of secular institutes, who also work in the Catholic Church's catechetical programmes. We see immediately from Table 7 that it is only the members of Secular Institutes who have suffered a slight decrease in the 10 years reviewed (1990-2000), while lay missionaries have very rapidly increased (by as much as 45.7 times), and catechists have steadily grown to over 2.6 million. The territorial increases were, as usual, very varied.
Table 7 - Other categories of pastoral workers on 31 December 1990 and 31 December 2000
CONTINENT
Members of Secular Institutes
Lay Missionaries
Catechists
1990
2000
Variat. %
1990
2000
Variat. %
1990
2000
Variat. %
AFRICA
451
444
-1.6
1329
1,222
-8.1
256,903
385,897
50.2
AMERICA
4,757
5,780
21.5
864
119,582
13,704.5
964,544
1,480,335
53.5
ASIA
892
1,457
63.3
352
3,597
921.9
172,630
260,961
51.2
EUROPE
25,272
22,961
-9.1
-
1,857
-
359,540
502,352
39.7
OCEANIA
47
45
-4.3
220
107
-51.4
26,162
12,343
-52.8
WORLD
31,419
30,687
-2.3
2,765
126,365
4,470.2
1,779,779
12,641,888
48.4
6. Candidates to the priesthood throughout the world have multiplied(Table 8). From 64,000 in 1978, they numbered 111,000 in 2000 with a trend of continuous and uninterrupted growth in all the intervening years. However, while these increases in Africa and Asiaare proving substantial and impressive, in the first continent, in Europe and Oceania the trends are more chequered and the increases far less.
Table 8 - Candidates to the priesthood in 1978, 1988 and 2000: their geographical distribution, numerical variations, indication of priestly vocations
CONTINENT
Candidates to the priesthood
Number
Percentage of the total
Percent variation
1978-2000
Per one million Catholics
Per 100 priests
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
1978
1988
2000
AFRICA
5,636
12,636
20,383
8.82
13.42
18.43
261.66
102.92
154.32
156.77
33.30
65.58
75.03
AMERICA
22,011
31,010
36,392
34.46
32.94
32.91
65.34
60.04
69.78
70.07
18.30
25.97
30.12
ASIA
11,536
19,090
26,006
18.06
20.28
23.52
125.43
182.58
226.45
242.36
41.65
59.12
59.69
EUROPE
23,915
30,581
26,879
37.44
32.48
24.31
12.39
89.78
109.45
95.95
9.55
13.39
12.88
OCEANIA
784
831
923
1.23
0.88
0.83
17.73
139.60
120.96
122.52
14.06
15.25
18.66
WORLD
63,882
94,148
110,583
100.00
100.00
100.00
73.11
84.44
104.97
105.82
15.17
23.25
27.29
One factor that relativizes the number of candidates to the priesthood consists in including their number among the number of Catholics on the various continents. We therefore realize that this number calculated per million Catholics varies considerably from continent to continent and in the three years considered: in particular, in 2000 the number of candidates to the priesthood went from 242 per million Catholics in Asia, to 157 in Africa, 113 in Oceania, 96 in Europe, and 70 in America. A last interesting statistic that can be seen as a rate of renewal, is obtained by comparing the number of candidates to the priesthood with the number of priests; in particular, this ratio was multiplied by 100 to highlight the number of candidates to the priesthood per 100 priests. Once again, the rapidly growing trend in the number of African and Asian candidates is reflected in these ratios that have rapidly grown in time and are far higher than on the other continents: in 2000 there were 75 candidates per 100 priests in Africa and 60 in Asia. Instead numbers were much lower in America (30), in Oceania (19) and in Europe (13). As a result of what has been mentioned above, the relative number on the various continents has changed during the years examined.
Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
15 May 2002, page 8
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