The average for 2013 based on 84 countries was 43.2 percent. The highest value was in Poland: 95.2 percent and the lowest value was in Ethiopia: 0.6 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2013. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2022, there were around 1.39 billion Catholics worldwide, approximately 17.7 percent of the total global population. Even though the Catholic population has increased in absolute numbers, the share of Catholics has always fluctuated around 17 percent since 2010.

Catholics to Population {title at top of page}Data Developers: Burhans, Molly A., Cheney, David M., Emege, Thomas, Gerlt, R.. . “Catholics to Population {title at top of page}”. Scale not given. Version 1.0. MO and CT, USA: GoodLands Inc., Catholic Hierarchy, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2019.Web map developer: Molly Burhans, October 2019Web app developer: Molly Burhans, October 2019GoodLands’ polygon data layers, version 2.0 for global ecclesiastical boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church:Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided, due to this being the first developed dataset of global ecclesiastical boundaries curated from many sources it may have a higher margin of error than established geopolitical administrative boundary maps. Boundaries need to be verified with appropriate Ecclesiastical Leadership. The current information is subject to change without notice. No parties involved with the creation of this data are liable for indirect, special or incidental damage resulting from, arising out of or in connection with the use of the information. We referenced 1960 sources to build our global datasets of ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Often, they were isolated images of dioceses, historical documents and information about parishes that were cross checked. These sources can be viewed here:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ANlH1S_aYJOyz4TtG0HHgz0OLxnOvXLHMt4FVOS85Q/edit#gid=0To learn more or contact us please visit: https://good-lands.org/The Catholic Leadership global maps information is derived from the Annuario Pontificio, which is curated and published by the Vatican Statistics Office annually, and digitized by David Cheney at Catholic-Hierarchy.org -- updated are supplemented with diocesan and news announcements. GoodLands maps this into global ecclesiastical boundaries. Admin 3 Ecclesiastical Territories:Burhans, Molly A., Cheney, David M., Gerlt, R.. . “Admin 3 Ecclesiastical Territories For Web”. Scale not given. Version 1.2. MO and CT, USA: GoodLands Inc., Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2019.Derived from:Global Diocesan Boundaries:Burhans, M., Bell, J., Burhans, D., Carmichael, R., Cheney, D., Deaton, M., Emge, T. Gerlt, B., Grayson, J., Herries, J., Keegan, H., Skinner, A., Smith, M., Sousa, C., Trubetskoy, S. “Diocesean Boundaries of the Catholic Church” [Feature Layer]. Scale not given. Version 1.2. Redlands, CA, USA: GoodLands Inc., Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2016.Using: ArcGIS. 10.4. Version 10.0. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2016.Boundary ProvenanceStatistics and Leadership DataCheney, D.M. “Catholic Hierarchy of the World” [Database]. Date Updated: August 2019. Catholic Hierarchy. Using: Paradox. Retrieved from Original Source.Catholic HierarchyAnnuario Pontificio per l’Anno .. Città del Vaticano :Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, Multiple Years.The data for these maps was extracted from the gold standard of Church data, the Annuario Pontificio, published yearly by the Vatican. The collection and data development of the Vatican Statistics Office are unknown. GoodLands is not responsible for errors within this data. We encourage people to document and report errant information to us at data@good-lands.org or directly to the Vatican.Additional information about regular changes in bishops and sees comes from a variety of public diocesan and news announcements.

Although traditionally a Catholic country, Spain saw a decline in the number of believers over the past years. Compared to 2011, when the share of believers accounted for slightly over 70 percent of the Spanish population, the Catholic community lost approximately 13 percentage points of their faithful by September 2024 with a share of 57.1 percent of the surveyed population. Believers of a religion other than Catholicism accounted for approximately 3.3 percent of the Spanish population in 2024 according to the most recent data. A Catholic majority, a practicing minority Going to mass is no longer a thing in Spain, or so it would seem when looking at the latest statistics about the matter: over 50 percent of those who consider themselves Catholics almost never attend any religious service in September 2024. Since 2021, the figures only decreased in the past years, with 55.5 percent of the population never going to religious services in 2011 down to 50 percent in 2024. The not so Catholic Spain Around 38 percent of the surveyed population stated to be either non-believers or full atheists in 2024. Non-believers or people that do not have a religious faith fluctuated over the past years with the latest figures showing a 12.1 percent of people that categorize themselves as so. The share of Spanish atheists is on the rise according to the most recent surveys, taking up 15.5 percent of respondents in May 2024.

The average for 2013 based on 22 countries was 50.9 percent. The highest value was in Poland: 95.2 percent and the lowest value was in Bulgaria: 0.8 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2013. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Brazil is the largest Catholic country in the world, with an estimated Catholic population of 140 million, ahead of Mexico and the Philippines, with 101 million and 85 million Catholics, respectively. Nevertheless, Brazil's Catholic population is shrinking. By 2050, today's largest Catholic country could have a majority Protestant population.

The USA: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 24 percent, unchanged from 24 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1960 to 2013 is 24 percent. The minimum value, 23.9 percent, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 24 percent was recorded in 1983.

Global Diocesan Boundaries:Burhans, M., Bell, J., Burhans, D., Carmichael, R., Cheney, D., Deaton, M., Emge, T. Gerlt, B., Grayson, J., Herries, J., Keegan, H., Skinner, A., Smith, M., Sousa, C., Trubetskoy, S. “Diocesean Boundaries of the Catholic Church” [Feature Layer]. Scale not given. Version 1.2. Redlands, CA, USA: GoodLands Inc., Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2016.Using: ArcGIS. 10.4. Version 10.0. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2016.Boundary ProvenanceStatistics and Leadership DataCheney, D.M. “Catholic Hierarchy of the World” [Database]. Date Updated: August 2019. Catholic Hierarchy. Using: Paradox. Retrieved from Original Source.Catholic HierarchyAnnuario Pontificio per l’Anno .. Città del Vaticano :Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, Multiple Years.The data for these maps was extracted from the gold standard of Church data, the Annuario Pontificio, published yearly by the Vatican. The collection and data development of the Vatican Statistics Office are unknown. GoodLands is not responsible for errors within this data. We encourage people to document and report errant information to us at data@good-lands.org or directly to the Vatican.Additional information about regular changes in bishops and sees comes from a variety of public diocesan and news announcements.GoodLands’ polygon data layers, version 2.0 for global ecclesiastical boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church:Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided, due to this being the first developed dataset of global ecclesiastical boundaries curated from many sources it may have a higher margin of error than established geopolitical administrative boundary maps. Boundaries need to be verified with appropriate Ecclesiastical Leadership. The current information is subject to change without notice. No parties involved with the creation of this data are liable for indirect, special or incidental damage resulting from, arising out of or in connection with the use of the information. We referenced 1960 sources to build our global datasets of ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Often, they were isolated images of dioceses, historical documents and information about parishes that were cross checked. These sources can be viewed here:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ANlH1S_aYJOyz4TtG0HHgz0OLxnOvXLHMt4FVOS85Q/edit#gid=0To learn more or contact us please visit: https://good-lands.org/

In 2022, around 31.6 percent of the global population were identify as Christian. Around 25.8 percent of the global population identify as Muslims, followed by 15.1 percent of global populations as Hindu.

Spain: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 88.3 percent, a decline from 88.8 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for Spain from 1960 to 2013 is 95.5 percent. The minimum value, 88.3 percent, was reached in 2013 while the maximum of 98.5 percent was recorded in 1969.

Catholics to Population {title at top of page}Data Developers: Burhans, Molly A., Cheney, David M., Emege, Thomas, Gerlt, R.. . “Catholics to Population {title at top of page}”. Scale not given. Version 1.0. MO and CT, USA: GoodLands Inc., Catholic Hierarchy, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2019.Web map developer: Molly Burhans, October 2019Web app developer: Molly Burhans, October 2019GoodLands’ polygon data layers, version 2.0 for global ecclesiastical boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church:Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided, due to this being the first developed dataset of global ecclesiastical boundaries curated from many sources it may have a higher margin of error than established geopolitical administrative boundary maps. Boundaries need to be verified with appropriate Ecclesiastical Leadership. The current information is subject to change without notice. No parties involved with the creation of this data are liable for indirect, special or incidental damage resulting from, arising out of or in connection with the use of the information. We referenced 1960 sources to build our global datasets of ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Often, they were isolated images of dioceses, historical documents and information about parishes that were cross checked. These sources can be viewed here:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ANlH1S_aYJOyz4TtG0HHgz0OLxnOvXLHMt4FVOS85Q/edit#gid=0To learn more or contact us please visit: https://good-lands.org/The Catholic Leadership global maps information is derived from the Annuario Pontificio, which is curated and published by the Vatican Statistics Office annually, and digitized by David Cheney at Catholic-Hierarchy.org -- updated are supplemented with diocesan and news announcements. GoodLands maps this into global ecclesiastical boundaries. Admin 3 Ecclesiastical Territories:Burhans, Molly A., Cheney, David M., Gerlt, R.. . “Admin 3 Ecclesiastical Territories For Web”. Scale not given. Version 1.2. MO and CT, USA: GoodLands Inc., Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2019.Derived from:Global Diocesan Boundaries:Burhans, M., Bell, J., Burhans, D., Carmichael, R., Cheney, D., Deaton, M., Emge, T. Gerlt, B., Grayson, J., Herries, J., Keegan, H., Skinner, A., Smith, M., Sousa, C., Trubetskoy, S. “Diocesean Boundaries of the Catholic Church” [Feature Layer]. Scale not given. Version 1.2. Redlands, CA, USA: GoodLands Inc., Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2016.Using: ArcGIS. 10.4. Version 10.0. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2016.Boundary ProvenanceStatistics and Leadership DataCheney, D.M. “Catholic Hierarchy of the World” [Database]. Date Updated: August 2019. Catholic Hierarchy. Using: Paradox. Retrieved from Original Source.Catholic HierarchyAnnuario Pontificio per l’Anno .. Città del Vaticano :Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, Multiple Years.The data for these maps was extracted from the gold standard of Church data, the Annuario Pontificio, published yearly by the Vatican. The collection and data development of the Vatican Statistics Office are unknown. GoodLands is not responsible for errors within this data. We encourage people to document and report errant information to us at data@good-lands.org or directly to the Vatican.Additional information about regular changes in bishops and sees comes from a variety of public diocesan and news announcements.

In 2021, around 53.59 percent of the population in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia were Catholics. Indonesia has the largest Islamic population in the world and therefore the largest Muslim nation. However, Indonesia is not a Muslim nation by constitution. The archipelago has six official religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

Italy: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 84 percent, a decline from 84.7 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for Italy from 1960 to 2013 is 94.5 percent. The minimum value, 84 percent, was reached in 2013 while the maximum of 99.1 percent was recorded in 1960.

Based on the 2020 census, Region 5 or the Bicol Region registered the highest share of households who reported Roman Catholic as their religious affiliation at 93.5 percent. This was followed by Region 8 or Eastern Visayas with a share of 92.3 percent. In contrast, only five percent of households in BARMM were Roman Catholics. The Philippines is one of the countries in the world with the highest population professing the Catholic faith, after Brazil and Mexico.

Vietnam: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 7.7 percent, an increase from 7.6 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for Vietnam from 1960 to 2013 is 6 percent. The minimum value, 4.6 percent, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 7.7 percent was recorded in 2013.

Portugal: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 85.2 percent, a decline from 85.6 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for Portugal from 1960 to 2013 is 92.6 percent. The minimum value, 85.2 percent, was reached in 2013 while the maximum of 96.6 percent was recorded in 1960.

Estimation of Dominant Land Use / Land Cover per DioceseDATA (details below): 1. MODIS Land Cover, Land Cover Type 2: University of Maryland (UMD) scheme2. Global Diocesan Boundaries, 2.0 2019 (1:3M Scale)DATA PROCESSINGZONAL STATISTICS: MODIS Land Cover, Land Cover Type 2: University of Maryland (UMD) scheme --> Global Diocesan Boundaries, 2.0 2019 (1:3M Scale)NOTE:Values for various landuse and land cover (LULC) codes are in pixels. Pixels were 500m sq. Total represents sum of values between 1 and 17 which represented the actual data. Data pixels with center in a diocese can dived each class by the total to get percentage, more accurately this is not simply the percent of LULC per diocese but a percent of pixels representing LULC in diocese. Values could be used to rank by a particular LULC type or could normalize by area also.Data development:Burhans, Molly A., Cheney, David M., Emege, Thomas, Gerlt, R.. . “Land use and land cover per diocese”. 1:3M. Version 1.0. MO and CT, USA: GoodLands Inc., Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2019.Affiliated Map and Application Development:Molly Burhans, October 2019DATA SET 1: LAND USE LAND COVERGlobal mosaics of the standard MODIS land cover type dataChannan, S., K. Collins, and W. R. Emanuel. 2014. Global mosaics of the standard MODIS land cover type data. University of Maryland and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, College Park, Maryland, USA. 2013.ABOUT MODIS LAND COVERINFORMATION QUOTED FROM:URL: https://yceo.yale.edu/modis-land-cover-product-mcd12q1SOURCE: Friedl, M. A., Sulla-Menashe, D., Tan, B., Schneider, A., Ramankutty, N., Sibley, A., andHuang, X. (2010). MODIS Collection 5 global land cover: Algorithm refinements and characterization of new datasets. Remote Sensing of Environment, 114, 168–182.

Poland: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 95.2 percent, an increase from 95.1 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for Poland from 1960 to 2013 is 92 percent. The minimum value, 87.7 percent, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 95.2 percent was recorded in 2013.

Germany: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 31.7 percent, a decline from 31.9 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for Germany from 1960 to 2013 is 38.2 percent. The minimum value, 31.7 percent, was reached in 2013 while the maximum of 45 percent was recorded in 1960.

During a 2022 survey conducted in the United States, it was found that 91 percent of respondents had heard of Pope Benedict XVI. Around 39 percent of interviewees stated that they liked him, whereas 23 percent claimed the opposite. On the contrary, 29 percent of respondents were neutral.

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI was born in Bavaria, Germany as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger. He was elected as Pope in 2005 after Pope John Paul II and led the Catholic Church until 2013. Indeed, in that year, he announced his resignation due to his advanced age, the first papal resignation after Gregory XII in 1415.

Catholicism in the world

Catholicism is one of the main religions in Europe, mostly practiced in southern countries like Italy, Spain, and Portugal. For instance, almost 60 percent of Spanish people considered themselves Catholic in 2022, although this is down from over 70 percent a decade earlier. Despite Protestantism being the main religion in the North, some northern Europeans are Catholic. For example, over 25 percent of the German population was Catholic in 2021. Finally, at lower rates, Catholicism is also practiced in other countries like the United States, with around 13 percent of Americans identifying as Catholic.