The 2009 Pontifical Yearbook recorded that the number of Catholics worldwide increased by 1.4% from 2006-2007, just over the world population growth, which in the same period increased by 1.1%.
Priestly vocations also grew, though less (0.4%), but with notable differences between the continents: While Europe is witnessing a recession, Africa and Asia are experiencing an increase in vocations.
These are the main conclusions drawn from the “Annuario Pontificio,” the official Vatican publication that gathers up-to-date statistical data on the worldwide Church. The volume was presented to Benedict XVI on Saturday.
The latest edition covers data relating to the growth from 2006 to 2007, explained a Vatican communiqué. According to the statistics, the number of Catholics in the world has increased from 1.131 billion to almost 1.147 billion in one year, 17.3% of the total population, a percentage that has remained stable from one year to another.
The RC Church is a bit like the Church of England, which claims 25 million members. Many of the people in Latin America are on longer in the Roman branch of the catholic Church and many in Europe are not even baptized.
http://www.pwcweb.com/ecw
“many in Europe are not even baptized”
This statement is very curious, since the Catholic Church only counts the baptized amongst its members. It would be valid to argue that some of those baptized do not practice the Faith or informally left the Church: but to argue that the number of Catholics is inflated because “some of them aren’t baptized” suggests little understanding of the very nature of the Catholic Church.
If the Catholic Church is growing with the global population, then it is different from the Church of England in that (1) it is growing with the population; (2) it inspires sufficient converts to make up for the number of Catholics leaving the Church and for the lower birthrates of its members in the industrialized world.