Statistics
Catholic Personnel in South America
| Priests per 10,000 population | Replacement Ratio | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | 1977 | 1982 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2002 | 1977 | 1982 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2002 |
| Argentina | 1.93 | 1.84 | 1.85 | 1.76 | 1.64 | 1.50 | .07 | .18 | .35 | .39 | .35 | .34 |
| Bolivia | 1.45 | 1.33 | 1.36 | 1.29 | 1.40 | 1.30 | .09 | .11 | .21 | .41 | .77 | .65 |
| Brazil | 1.16 | 1.21 | 1.03 | 0.94 | 0.90 | 1.00 | .08 | .28 | .42 | .43 | .44 | .50 |
| Chile | 1.96 | 1.74 | 1.85 | 2.08 | 1.60 | 1.50 | .08 | .21 | .46 | .31 | .36 | .33 |
| Colombia | 2.02 | 1.92 | 1.95 | 1.93 | 1.20 | 1.90 | .20 | .22 | .46 | .61 | .55 | .60 |
| Ecuador | 1.88 | 1.72 | 1.66 | 1.51 | 1.50 | 1.40 | .06 | .07 | .19 | .34 | .43 | .36 |
| Paraguay | 1.76 | 1.60 | 1.54 | 1.36 | 1.20 | 1.40 | .13 | .16 | .46 | .57 | .53 | .43 |
| Peru | 1.42 | 1.36 | 1.21 | 1.12 | 1.00 | 1.00 | .10 | .24 | .40 | .45 | .80 | .64 |
| Uruguay | 2.00 | 1.95 | 1.86 | 2.35 | 1.60 | 1.40 | .05 | .08 | .22 | .15 | .15 | .21 |
| Venezuela | 1.68 | 1.40 | 1.21 | 1.06 | 1.08 | 0.90 | .08 | .11 | .25 | .46 | .42 | .50 |
| South America | 1.49 | 1.45 | 1.33 | 1.26 | 1.31 | 1.33 | .10 | .22 | .39 | .44 | .48 | .46 |
Original Table courtesy of Anthony Gill. (1977-1992)
Replacement Ratio=(seminarians per 10,000)/(priests per 10,000). Interpret as percentage of existing priests that can be replaced by seminarians. Figures for South America represent weighted averages.
Source: Catholic Almanac (various years).