The Catholic population of South Korea has surpassed 6 million, with recent statistics showing growth in the local Church, even as the country’s population continues to shrink.
However, while the Church in the country is expanding, its demographics also reflect the rapid aging of the general population in the East Asian nation.
According to new statistics published this month by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK), there were 6,006,832 Catholics in South Korea in 2025, an increase of 9,178 from the previous year.
Overall, Catholics make up 11.4% of the population in South Korea.
Catholicism took root in the country — whose culture was deeply shaped by Buddhism and Confucianism — in the late 1700s and grew amid intense persecution that saw the creation of countless martyrs.
The Catholic Church’s expansion in South Korea in the last 30 years has been described as “explosive.”
In 1995, the country was home to 2,885,000 Catholics. A decade later, in 2005, that had risen to 5,015,000. But the annual growth rate has slowed significantly.
Catholicism’s visibility is likely to be further increased when the nation hosts World Youth Day in 2027. An estimated 1.5 million people from more than 200 countries attended the closing Mass at last year’s World Youth Day in Lisbon.
South Korea is currently facing a demographic crisis, with both the lowest birth rate and the most rapid population aging of any country in the world.
With more than 20% of its population aged 65 or older, South Korea is considered a “super-aged” society.
The Church is similarly seeing its members age. Some 29% of Catholics in the country are 65 or older, as are almost 20% of diocesan priests.
Despite the growth in the local Church, recent years have seen a decline in priestly vocations.
Seventy new priests were ordained in South Korea in 2025, down from 96 three years earlier.
The country had a total of 854 students enrolled in seminaries in 2025, compared to 1,030 three years earlier.
The statistics from the bishops’ conference showed that just under 1 million Catholics – some 15% – attend Mass on the average Sunday.
A total of 64,073 people were baptized in South Korea in 2025, up from 51,307 the year before. Adult baptisms outnumbered baptisms of children by a 4-to-1 ratio.
Baptism numbers have been rising in the country each year since 2020, but they remain well below pre-pandemic levels, when there were more than 80,000 baptisms a year.
There were 11,854 children baptized in South Korea in 2025, nearly identical to the number baptized three years earlier. However, the number of adult baptisms grew significantly, from 26,031 in 2022 to 48,342 in 2025.
The other 3,877 baptisms in 2025 are categorized as “baptisms in danger of death” and do not have an age range provided.