From CNA:
On the occasion of the 99th World Mission Day, to be celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 19, with the theme “Missionaries of Hope among all Peoples,” the Vatican news agency Fides presented some statistics that offer a general overview of the Catholic Church worldwide.
The study is based on numbers from 2023, in which the world population rose to 7,914,582,000, with a positive trend on all continents, including Europe. The increase in Catholics was 15,881,000 over the previous year. The percentage of Catholics in the world’s population increased by 0.1% compared to the previous year, reaching 17.8%.