Number of Catholics in Korea continues to grow

(June 22,2010) For the first time, the number of Catholics in Korea has exceeded 10% of the total population. Now, there are 115,997 more Catholics than in 2008. Since 1999, there has been an annual increase of 2 to 3%. In 2008 the number exceeded 5 million. The statistics were based on pastoral documents collected from 16 dioceses, seven universities and a number of Catholic religious institutes in Korea. Of the 15 dioceses, which have a total of 5 million and 120 thousand faithful, the largest number are in the Archdiocese of Seoul, where 27.4% of Catholics live.
There has also been an increase in the number of priests. In 2009, 149 priests were ordained, 21 more than 2008. 69% of the 4913 priests present in Korea, are between the ages of 20 and 40. According to statistics, by comparing the number of priests with that of the faithful, in Korea there is one priest for every 1,171 faithful.