According to Vatican sources (the Annuario Pontificio 2016 and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2014), there are an estimated 1.3 billion Catholics throughout the world, making up 17.8% of the global population. The number of baptized in Africa has increased by 40%, in Asia, by 20%, in the Americas, by 11% and in Europe, by 2%. The number of bishops and priests has also increased but the latter, after experiencing a progressive growth rate up until 2011, are now in slow decline.
As for religious: in 2014 there were 683,000 professed sisters, 54,000 professed men religious (excluding priests), and 44,500 permanent deacons. The deacons are the group expanding most noticeably: from 33,000 in 2005 to 45,000 in 2014–a growth rate of 33.5%.
This data reveals a substantial diversity according to geographical areas: Africa and Asia are experiencing notable growth, while the Americas are basically stable and Europe is in decline.