Number Of Priests In Asia And Africa Increase

In the past five years, the number of priests in Asia and Africa has increased, but their number worldwide has decreased, albeit by very little, this according to the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (Statistical Yearbook of the Church).

The Central Office of Church Statistics looked at the evolution in the number of priests in the world between 2013 and 2018 and found slight drop of 0.3 per cent, to around 414,000.

During that period, 43,000 new priests were ordained, half of whom in Africa and Asia, evenly split between the two continents.

The publication of the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae for 2018 makes it possible to see the demographic and statistical evolution of the clergy and local Churches between 2013 and 2018.

By looking at the geographic and functional distribution of priests (diocesan and religious), some interesting points of reflection emerge.

As noted, the total number of priests in the world decreased from 415,348 in 2013 to 414,065 in 2018, mostly in the latter part of the period.

However, in Africa and Asia, the trend was positive, +14.3 per cent and + 11.0 per cent respectively, with a net gain of 2,200 priests in 2018 alone.

Conversely, in the Americas, the number did not change with around 122,000 priests. Europe and Oceania explain the worldwide drop, with a loss of more than 7 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

In Europe, where the clergy is old, the number of deaths (23,365) far exceeded the number of new ordinations by almost 15,000.

This decline was offset by gains in Asia, but especially Africa, where the average age of priests is lower. In the Americas, the demographic balance is almost in perfect parity. In the period under review, mortality varied considerably.

Africa, Central America, and South East Asia have similarly lower mortality rates than all the other areas.

Almost 6,000 priests left the priesthood in 2014-2018, mostly in the Americas and Europe (81 per cent), while the other areas saw fewer losses.

And in North and Central America, Europe and Oceania gained priests through immigration from other continents, whilst Africa, Asia and South America experienced a net loss due to outmigration.