Top Stories 25/05/01 15% Korean Catholics attend Sunday Mass, says Church study

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Catholics in South Korea reached nearly six million in 2024, reports the Korean bishops' conference 

Catholic faithful gather outside Myeongdong Cathedral during a mass by Pope Francis in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 18, 2014. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP)

By UCA News reporter

Published: May 01, 2025 10:11 AM GMT

Updated: May 01, 2025 11:14 AM GMT

About 15 in every 100 Catholics in South Korea attended Sunday Mass regularly in 2024, says the latest statistical report published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.

At the end of 2024, the number of Catholics in the country stood at 5,997,654, making up about 11.4 percent of the national population, according to the report titled 2024 Statistics on the Catholic Church in Korea.

Female Catholics (57 percent) surpassed the number of male Catholics (43 percent). About 27.5 percent of Catholics are aged 65 and above, and about 16 percent are under 29.

The number of baptized Catholics was 58,348 in 2024, a 13.7 percent increase from 2023.

Last year, 53.8 percent of students in elementary schools, 29.2 percent in middle schools, and 14.6 percent of students in high school attended Sunday schools, which showed a downward trend, the report said.

In 2024, the Catholic Church had 5,751 clergy, an increase of 30 from the previous year, including 2 cardinals, 40 bishops, and 5,709 priests. A total of 5,578 were Koreans and 131 foreigners.

About 14.2 percent of priests were aged 50-54, about 13.8 percent were 45-49, about 12.6 percent were 40-44, about 11.9 percent were 55-59, and 10.1 percent were aged 35-39.

Overall, priest in their 40s and 50s accounted for 52.5 percent. The percentage of priests aged 65 or older was 18.7 percent, up from 10.9 percent in 2014.

There were 989 Korean missionaries working in 64 countries worldwide. They included 254 priests, 40 monks, 689 nuns, and 6 lay missionaries.

The countries with the most Korean missionaries were Vietnam (129), the Philippines (74), Zambia (57), Japan (52), Indonesia (51), China (47), Peru (44), Bolivia (38), and Myanmar(36).

*This report is brought to you in partnership with the Catholic Times of Korea