Mapping the Catholic Church: Geographic and Temporal Visualizations

Global Statistics Overview

Interactive Global Map of Catholic Statistics

This interactive world map illustrates the global distribution of the selected variable. Each country is represented by a bubble positioned at its geographic centroid. The size of each bubble reflects the value of the selected variable (larger bubbles indicate higher values), while the color of each bubble shows the year-over-year trend:

  • Green colors—Increase compared to the previous year:
    • Dark green: >50% increase
    • Forest green: 15-50% increase
    • Medium green: 1-15% increase
  • Red colors—Decrease compared to the previous year:
    • Light red: 1-15% decrease
    • Medium red: 15-50% decrease
    • Dark red: >50% decrease
  • Gray—No change (-1% to 1%) or no data from the previous year
  • Please note: A color legend is displayed on the map showing the exact thresholds for each color category.

Country-Level Trend Analysis

Filters

Please use these controls to customize the data that is displayed on the map and charts:

Please indicate whether you require data from before or after 2010. If you require data from before 2010, please select 'Before 2010.' If you require data from after 2010, please select 'After 2010.'

Slide to select a specific year. The selected year must be within the year range specified below.

Select the year range for the Country-Level Trend Analysis chart. For 'Before 2010', maximum year is 2010. For 'After 2010', minimum year is 2010. The 'Year' slider above will be limited to this range.

Start Year - End Year

Please select one or more countries for study. If you leave this field blank, the top countries will be included.

Please select a variable, such as 'Total Catholics' or 'Percent Catholic,' in order to visualize the data.

Please note that 'Statistically Processed Data' includes statistically estimated values for missing data. 'Raw Data' shows only original, unprocessed data.

Country-Level Catholic Data Visualization

On this page, users can explore comprehensive Catholic statistics at the country level. These statistics can be filtered by selecting a country of interest. Flexible filters allow users to:

  • Choose key variables such as Catholic population, percent Catholic, diocesan and religious priests, total priests, permanent deacons, male and female religious, and parishes
  • Specify a time period (pre-2010 aggregated data or post-2010 annual data) and the exact year
  • Select a data mode (statistically processed data or raw data)

Interactive charts and tables provide clear insights into diocesan development patterns:

  • The bar chart provides a comparison of selected dioceses within the country for the chosen year
  • The Dioceses-Level Trend Analysis uses line charts to show changes over time
  • A complete diocesan data table is available in the trend analysis section for detailed reference

This page enables users to intuitively observe and analyze country-wide Catholic developments through an engaging visual interface.

Dioceses-Level Trend Analysis

Filters

Please use these controls to customize the data that is displayed on the map and charts:

Please indicate whether you require data from before or after 2010. If you require data from before 2010, please select 'Before 2010.' If you require data from after 2010, please select 'After 2010.'

Slide to select a specific year. The selected year must be within the year range specified below.

Select the year range for the Dioceses-Level Trend Analysis chart. For 'Before 2010', maximum year is 2010. For 'After 2010', minimum year is 2010. The 'Year' slider above will be limited to this range.

Start Year - End Year

Please select a country to focus on trends and comparisons.

Select one or more dioceses to study. If you leave this field blank, the top dioceses will be included.

Please select a variable, such as 'Total Catholics' or 'Percent Catholic,' in order to visualize the data.

Please note that 'Statistically Processed Data' includes statistically estimated values for missing data. 'Raw Data' shows only original, unprocessed data.

Diocese-Level Catholic Data Visualization

On this page, users can explore comprehensive Catholic statistics at the diocese level, alongside general information about a specific diocese. These statistics can be filtered by selecting a specific diocese of interest. Flexible filters allow users to:

  • Choose key variables such as Catholic population, percent Catholic, diocesan and religious priests, total priests, permanent deacons, male and female religious, and parishes
  • Specify a time period (pre-2010 aggregated data or post-2010 annual data)
  • Select a data mode (statistically processed data or raw data)

Interactive charts and tables will be provided to facilitate clear insights into diocesan development patterns.

General Information

Filters

Please use these controls to customize the data that is displayed on the map and charts:

Please select a time period to filter data by year range.

Select the year range for the Catholic Data Visualization chart. For 'Before 2010', maximum year is 2010. For 'After 2010', minimum year is 2010. For 'All Years', you can select any available year range.

Start Year - End Year

Please select a specific diocese for analysis.

Please select one or more variables, such as 'Total Catholics' or 'Percent Catholic,' in order to visualize the data.

Please note that 'Statistically Processed Data' includes statistically estimated values for missing data. 'Raw Data' shows only original, unprocessed data.

Welcome to Catholic Data Visualization

This website presents an interactive visualisation of global Catholic statistics. The data is sourced from Catholic-Hierarchy.org, a comprehensive website that collates information on each diocese at the national level.

Data Coverage: Our database spans from 1950 to the present and is available at two levels of temporal resolution:

  • 1950 – 2010: Consolidated into one data point per decade
  • 2010 – present: Annual records

Data Quality Statement: The dataset presented here has been derived from Catholic-Hierarchy.org (https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/sources.html), a secondary aggregator of publicly available information. This approach of relying on aggregated online sources can result in moderate and variable data quality. The reliability of the data is contingent upon regional information accessibility. Consequently, data from nations with robust digital reporting is generally more complete, whereas regions with limited data access may exhibit significant omissions. This site's primary data source is Catholic-Hierarchy.org, a privately operated and continuously updated database maintained by David M. Cheney. The site provides current and historical information on Catholic dioceses, bishops, and religious institutes worldwide, including both the Latin-rite and Eastern Catholic Churches. Catholic-Hierarchy.org explicitly states that it is not officially endorsed or approved by any Catholic Church authority and that "the data included on this site come from a variety of sources." The Vatican's Annuario Pontificio, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Acta Sanctae Sedis, and other ecclesiastical and scholarly publications are among the sources from which this information is drawn. In preparing the visualizations on this site, the data has been adapted and, where needed, statistically processed (for example, by interpolation of missing values) in order to enable smooth trend analysis and comparison. It should be noted that there may be some discrepancies between the raw original data and the figures displayed here. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Catholic-Hierarchy.org and David M. Cheney for their sustained efforts in compiling and publishing the global Catholic structural data.

Available Variables: Discover trends across a wide range of key indicators, including:

  • Catholic Population
  • Percentage of Catholics
  • Diocesan Priests
  • Religious Priests
  • Total Priests
  • Catholics per Priest
  • Permanent Deacons
  • Male Religious
  • Female Religious
  • Number of Parishes

Interactive Features: Use our interactive tools to filter and analyze data by time period, country, or specific variable across three levels of detail:

  • Global View: Country-level world map aggregation
  • Country View: In-depth diocesan comparisons within a selected nation
  • Diocese View: Detailed analysis of individual dioceses

Data Modes: View the data in two formats depending on your research needs:

  • Raw Data – Presented exactly as published by Catholic-Hierarchy.org
  • Statistically Processed Data – Enhanced with linear interpolation to fill missing values and enable smoother trend analysis

Contact Information

Should you have any questions, feedback, or issues regarding this website, please contact:

Anna-Carolina.Haensch@stat.uni-muenchen.de

Data Update

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To refresh the dataset with the latest information from Catholic-Hierarchy.org, please click the button below.

Please note that the update process may take approximately 20–30 minutes.