10 Indonesian Provinces with the Largest Catholic Populations in 2023

Catholicism is the third largest religion in Indonesia after Islam and Christianity. It's no surprise, then, that Pope Francis's visit to Indonesia from September 3rd to 6th, 2024, was met with joy by Indonesian Catholics.

According to data from the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Ditjen Dukcapil), the number of Catholics in Indonesia reached 8.6 million in 2023. This figure represents 3.06% of the total population of 280.73 million.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is the province with the highest number of Catholics in Indonesia, reaching 3.01 million last year. This accounts for 53.73% of its total population of 5.61 million.

The provinces with the next highest number of Catholic adherents are West Kalimantan, with 1.23 million; North Sumatra, with 661,380; Jakarta, with 441,030; and Central Java, with 343,210.

Following these are West Java with 303,630 Catholics; East Java with 273,000; South Papua with 264,000; Central Papua with 262,530; and East Kalimantan with 179,670.

Below is a complete list of the number of Catholic adherents in the 38 provinces in 2023:

* East Nusa Tenggara: 3.01 million
* West Kalimantan: 1.23 million
* North Sumatra: 661,380
* Jakarta: 441,030
* Central Java: 343,210
* West Java: 303,630
* East Java: 273,960
* South Papua: 264,920
* Central Papua: 262,530
* East Kalimantan: 179,670
* Yogyakarta Special Region: 164,690
* Banten: 151,300
* South Sulawesi: 150,200
* Maluku: 130,990
* North Sulawesi: 118,970
* Papua Mountains: 109,950
* Central Kalimantan: 92,760
* Lampung: 77,210
* Riau: 74,480
* Papua: 61,950
* Riau Islands: 56,480
* South Sumatra: 50,550
* North Kalimantan: 49,210
* West Sumatra: 48,100
* West Papua: 48,010
* Southwest Papua: 43,920
* Bali: 36,520
* Central Sulawesi: 28,940
* South Kalimantan: 23,710
* Jambi: 21,820
* Bangka Belitung Islands: 19,550
* Southeast Sulawesi: 16,630
* West Sulawesi: 15,730
* West Nusa Tenggara: 10,240
* Bengkulu: 8,120
* North Maluku: 7,560
* Aceh: 5,910
* Gorontalo: 1,180

(Also read: Global Catholic Population Grows, Priests Decline)