The global Catholic population is increasing, but the number of priests is decreasing.
This is recorded in the *2022 Statistical Yearbook of the Church*, published by the Vatican in April 2024.
According to the report, the global Catholic population increased by 1%, from approximately 1.38 billion people (2021) to 1.39 billion people (2022).
On the other hand, the number of Catholic priests globally decreased by 0.03%, from 407,870 (2021) to 407,730 (2022).
"In 2022, the number of priests decreased again compared to the previous year, continuing a downward trend observed since 2012," quoted from the official Vatican media.
They also stated that during the 2021-2022 period, there was a decrease in the number of seminarians, or students preparing for the priesthood.
"The downward trend in priestly vocations observed since 2012 continues. In 2022, the number of men preparing to become priests was 108,481, down 1.3% from the previous year," they said.