Statistics on the Catholic Church in the Republic of Korea

(VIS/Vatican Radio) Looking ahead to Pope Francis’s Apostolic Journey to the Republic of Korea from 13 to 18 August, the Vatican Press Office has released statistics regarding the Catholic Church in the East Asian nation. 

The statistics date from 31 December 2013 and are provided by the Central Office of Church Statistics.

The Republic of Korea has an area of 99,268 square kilometers and a population of 50,220,000, of whom 5,393,000 are Catholics, corresponding to 10.7% of the population. There are 16 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 1,673 parishes and 843 pastoral centers. The apostolate is carried out by 35 bishops, 4,261 priests, 516 male religious and 9,016 female religious, 123 lay missionaries and 14,195 catechists. There are 395 minor and 1,489 major seminarians.

There are 328 educational centers of all levels directed or owned by the Catholic Church throughout the Republic of Korea, in which there are 221,020 students, as well as 49 special centers. There are also 200 health and welfare centers belonging to or directed by the Church: 40 hospitals, 4 clinics, 9 leper colonies, 513 rest homes for the elderly and disabled, 277 orphanages and nurseries, and 83 centers for family counselling and the protection of life.