Africa overtakes Europe in Catholic population, Vatican says

Summary

The Vatican said Friday that Africa now has more Catholics than Europe, based on the latest Church statistics compiled by its news agency Fides. Africanews reports that the figures put Africa’s Catholic population at 288 million, slightly ahead of Europe’s 287 million, and the global total at 1.422 billion.

Timeline

1. The Straits Times

   16 Oct 2026, 10:50 UTCSource ↗

   The Straits Times reports that the Vatican said Africa now has more Catholics than Europe, citing the latest Church statistics compiled by Fides.

2. Africanews

   16 Oct 2026, 15:47 UTCSource ↗

   Africanews reports that the Vatican statistics put Africa’s Catholic population at 288 million, slightly ahead of Europe’s 287 million, with 1.422 billion Catholics worldwide.