Netherlands sees rise in new adult Catholics
Adults joining the Church rose by almost 40% last year.
The number of adults joining the Catholic Church in the Netherlands rose by almost 40% in 2024.
According to statistics published by the Catholic Institute for Ecclesiastical Statistics, known by its Dutch acronym Kaski, the number of adults joining the Church increased from 455 in 2023 to 630 in 2024, the latest year for which records are available.
The figures, which include both adults who received baptism and adults baptized in other Christian communities who were received into the Catholic Church, indicate the Netherlands is one of a growing number of European countries seeing a significant rise in new adult Catholics.
The trend is most pronounced in France, but has also been observed in Belgium and the U.K.
The year-on-year rise in the Netherlands was one of the few positive developments in Kaski’s statistical study of the Dutch Church in 2024. The report is dated September 2025, but its findings were published on the Dutch Church’s official website Feb. 4.
The report highlighted the steep fall in infant baptisms in the country, from 42,411 in 2000 to 6,110 in 2024.
It said: “The total number of child baptisms fell by approximately 7% between 2023 and 2024.”
“In addition to child baptisms, more than 500 adult baptisms were also administered in 2024, and more than 100 adults joined the Church without baptism [via confirmation and the reception of the Eucharist].”
“Although these are smaller numbers compared to the number of infant baptisms, it is striking that the total number of admissions increased by almost 40% between 2023 and 2024.”
Joris Kregting, a sociologist of religion working for Kaski, called the rise in new adult Catholics “a striking exception, which corroborates all sorts of recent media reports on this subject.”
The overall number of Catholics in the Netherlands — a country of 18 million people bordering Belgium and Germany — fell from 5.1 million in 2000 to 3.4 million in 2024, representing 19.1% of the total population.
The proportion of baptized Dutch Catholics attending weekly Masses has remained low throughout the 21st century. In the year 2000, 9.2% of Catholics were present at weekend Mass. In 2024, the proportion fell to 2.7%.
The figures confirm that, among countries with a significant number of Catholics, the Netherlands has one of the lowest levels of weekly Mass attendance in the world.
Figures for the reception of other sacraments are also likely to dismay the Dutch bishops.
In 2024, 6,110 children were baptized, down 7% compared to 2023. There was also a 7% drop in children receiving first Communion and a 5% fall in young people receiving confirmation.
But Church weddings increased by 5.5% from 2023 to 2024. Around one in five marriages was between a Catholic and a non-Catholic.
The Catholic Church oversaw the funerals of almost 7% of all deceased people in the Netherlands in 2024. But the overall number of church funerals fell from 13,720 in 2023 to 11,850 in 2024.