The global Catholic population as of 2023-2024 is approximately 1.406 billion people. This represents a 1.15% increase from about 1.39 billion in 2022
. Catholics constitute about 17.4% of the world population
. The distribution of Catholics worldwide is roughly:
- 20% in Africa, where the population is growing rapidly (from 272 million in 2022 to 281 million in 2023)
- 47.8% in the Americas, the region with the highest proportion of Catholics globally
- 11% in Asia
- 20.4% in Europe
- 0.8% in Oceania
Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world, with about 182 million Catholics, followed by Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States
. In summary, there are about 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide today, with the number steadily increasing, especially in Africa and parts of the Americas
