Global Catholic population tops 1.28 billion; half are in 10 countries
Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service | Apr. 8, 2017
People attend Mass in 2013 at the cathedral in Sao Paulo. (CNS/EPA/Sebasti o Moreira)
VATICAN CITY Taken together, the 10 countries with the most Catholics account for almost 56 percent of the world's Catholic population, the Vatican reported.
The 2017 Annuario Pontificio, or Vatican yearbook, and a new edition of the Vatican Statistical Yearbook report that the countries with the most Catholics are, in order: Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, United States, Italy, France, Colombia, Spain, Congo and Argentina.
The number of baptized Catholics grew 1 percent in a year to reach 1.285 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015, the date to which the statistics in both books refer.
Looking at the period 2010-2015, the global Catholic population increased by 7.4 percent, the Vatican said. Africa continued to be the continent with the largest percentage growth, increasing by 19.4 percent over the same five-year period. The increase in Africa outpaced the growth of the general population.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/global-catholic-population-tops-128-billion-half-are-10-countries
