Africa surpasses Europe in Catholic population; Church leaders highlight missionary role

NAIROBI, Kenya — Catholic leaders in Africa have described the Church’s growth there as an opportunity to share its faith, vocations, and missionary experience with the universal Church while continuing to receive gifts from other local Churches.

According to the latest statistics published by Agenzia Fides , Africa’s Catholic population has now surpassed Europe’s, rising to 288.3 million compared with Europe’s 287.2 million. Africa now has the second-largest Catholic population, after the Americas, which the organization counts as one region.

The data Fides used comes from the Church’s Book of Statistics, which is updated yearly. The latest edition includes data through Dec. 31, 2024.

In responses shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, Catholic leaders in Africa pointed to families, catechists, pastoral presence, and the witness of missionaries among factors they believe have contributed to the growth.

Catholics in the world numbered 1.4 billion, with an overall increase of 15.8 million Catholics compared with the previous year. As in previous years, increases were registered above all in Africa and in the Americas, followed by Asia, Europe,…