by Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The number of Catholics in the world and the number of deacons, priests and bishops all increased in 2010, while the number of women in religious orders continued to decline, according to Vatican statistics.
At the end of 2010, the worldwide Catholic population reached 1.196 billion, an increase of 15 million or 1.3%, slightly outpacing the global population growth rate, which was estimated at 1.1%, said a statement published by the Vatican press office.
Catholics as a percentage of the global population “remained stable at around 17.5%,” it said.
The statement reported a handful of the statistics contained in the 2012 “Annuario Pontificio,” a yearbook containing information about every Vatican office, as well as every diocese and religious order in the world.
Detailed statistics in the yearbook are based on reports from dioceses and religious orders as of Dec. 31, 2010.
The percentage of Catholics declined slightly in South America from 28.54% to 28.34% of the regional population, and dropped considerably in Europe from 24.05% to 23.83%. The percentage of Catholics increased in 2010 by just under half a percentage point in Southeast Asia and Africa.
The Vatican said the number of bishops in the world increased from 5,065 to 5,104; the number of priests went from 410,593 to 412,236, increasing everywhere except Europe.
The number of permanent deacons reported – 39,564 – was an increase of more than 1,400 over the previous year. 97.5% of the world’s permanent deacons live in the Americas or in Europe.
The number of men joining a religious order showed “a setback,” the Vatican said, with an increase of only 436 male religious worldwide in 2010.
The number of women in religious orders fell by more than 7,000 in 2010, despite showing a 2% increase in both Asia and Africa.
The number of seminarians around the world showed continued growth, from 117,978 at the end of 2009 to 118,990 at the end of 2010.