Africa’s Catholic Church has continued to grow despite global declines in priestly numbers, according to new Vatican data.
The continent gained 1,285 priests in 2023, a rise of nearly three per cent, even as Europe and the Americas recorded further drops, according to reports by The Catholic Herald.
The figures came from the Pontifical Yearbook 2025 and Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2023, published by the Vatican in March 2025.
By the end of last year, Africa’s Catholic population had risen from 272 million to 281 million, increasing its share of the world’s Catholics to one-fifth.
The number of bishops also grew, from 740 to 771 within that time period.
In total, the continent counted 54,944 priests, both diocesan and religious, up from 53,659 the previous year.
Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo remained the continent’s strongest contributors, producing up to a quarter of Africa’s new priests each year.
Analysts said the figures reflected a long-term shift, as Africa transitioned from a mission field to a leading source of clergy for the global Catholic Church.