Translated from the Civiltà Cattolica.
THE RELIGIOUS STATISTICS OF THE WORLD.
1. NUMBER OF CATHOLICS IN FIVE DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH AFTER THE DIFFERENT RELIGIONS.
3. PROGRESS OF CATHOLICITY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
4. IN HOLLAND.
5. IN THE UNITED STATES.
6. MISSIONS OF ASIA.
7. ITALIAN MISSIONARIES.
I. Let us, at first, take a comprehensive view of the number of Catholics scattered over the globe. In this very year some writers have limited their number to one hundred and fifty millions, with the remark that the figure is rather above a real census. Mr. Balbi, a writer of fame in statistics and in geography, gave, as far back as 1827, in his work published in Paris, his own estimate of the various populations of the world, classifying them under the heading of Religions Professed; and, according to his calculations, he allotted to the Catholic Church only one hundred and thirty nine millions(139,000,000), his figures exceeding those of many geographers who had preceded him. The eleven millions by some authors allowed this day to the Catholic denomination, are rather a restitution than an augmentation. The former reckoning was a mistake, and new statistics, when accurately put together, have exhibited a far larger number both of inhabitants and of Catholics. But we still take this restitution as very inadequate. From an accurate investigation of the matter, we aver that the minimum of Catholics, over the world, amounts to two hundred millions (200,000,000). To afford the reader the means of testing the accuracy of our opinion, we shall here give the number of Catholics found in the different states of every part of the world. We have taken for our guide official statistics, either civil or ecclesiastical, whenever we could obtain them, or, otherwise, statements of modern geographers and of most trustworthy national writers. We have only omitted such fractions which were under five hundred (500); but when they were above the half thousandth we have set them down at one thousand. Thereby, in a computation, which cannot be but approximate, omissions will counterbalance the additions, and the final result will not undergo any material change. Let it, moreover, be borne in mind that we have not been actuated by any desire to attain large figures. We have only aimed at fixing the surest, or, at least, the most probable amount. Thus, for example, we have accepted only six hundred and ninety thousand (690,000) Catholics for the Portuguese possessions in Africa, although national authors, by no means exaggerating, have reckoned them at two millions.
With such preamble, here is the result of our investigations: