Originally published at National Catholic Register
Catholics still made up about 39.5% of Europe’s population in 2022, which is an 0.08% decline, according to the Vatican.
The Catholic population in Europe fell by nearly half a million people in 2022 but continued to increase in every other part of the world, according to data released by the Vatican this week.
According to the Vatican numbers, released by the Holy See’s Fides News Agency, the Catholic population in Europe was just under 285.6 million people at the end of 2022. That is about 474,000 fewer Catholics than was reported in 2021.
The Catholic population decline coincided with a total population reduction on the continent, which recorded a net loss of 517,000 people living in Europe over the year.
Catholics still made up about 39.5% of Europe’s population in 2022, which is an 0.08% decline, according to the Vatican. The Catholic population decline in Europe has been a consistent phenomenon for several years.
In spite of the reduction in Europe, the global Catholic population is still on the rise. At the end of 2022, the Catholic population reached nearly 1.39 billion people thanks to an increase of more than 13.7 million Catholics.
The data showed that about
