World's Catholic population up

THE number of Roman Catholics around the world increased by 1.7 per cent in 2008, with 19 million more baptisms recorded, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Some 1.166 billion Roman Catholics were baptised last year, compared to just under 1.147 billion in 2007, the Vatican said in its latest edition of the Pontifical Yearbook.

The number of bishops increased by 1.3 per cent, and the number of priests also increased slightly, though those from Europe fell in relation to those from Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Roman Catholics make up 17.4 per cent of the world's total population of 6.7 billion, the Vatican said.