France

A feast for the Saintes Maries and Sainte Sara in the Camargue each May reenacts the arrival of Jesus's friends, and the introduction of Christianity, to France.

In the Journal of Global Catholicism

Michael Agnew, "'This is a glimpse of Paradise': Encountering Lourdes Through Serial and Multisited Pilgrimage," Journal of Global Catholicism 3, no. 1 (2019), DOI: 10.32436/2475-6423.1048.

Marc Roscoe Loustau, "Substituting Stories: Narrative Arcs and Pilgrimage Material Culture Between Lourdes and Csíksomlyó," Journal of Global Catholicism 3, no. 1 (2019), DOI: 10.32436/2475-6423.1050.

Articles

In the News

Lourdes: Pilgrims flock to French sanctuary online in their millions - BBC - May 15, 2021

Demographics

National Demographics

Total Population:

65,233,271 1

Urban:

80.40% 1

Rural:

19.60% 1

Immigrants as % of Population:

12.1% 2

Homicides:

1.58 per 100,000 people (global median 6.9) 3

Level of Public Corruption:

23 (1=lowest, 176=highest corruption) 4

Gender Equality in the Economy, Health, Education and Politics:

17 (1=most equal, 144=least equal) 7

Fertility Rate:

2.00 births per adult woman 5

Children Who Do Not Live to Age 5:

0.40% 5

Life Expectancy at Birth:

82 years 5

Internet Users:

84% 5

Gross National Income per Capita:

US$42,960 5

Catholic Demographics

These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.

Baptized Catholics:

48,800,000

Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population:

74.93%

Baptisms per Year (Under age 7):

155,839

Baptisms per Year (Over age 7):

17,461

First Communions per Year:

80,094

Confirmations per Year:

36,329

Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools:

605,761

Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools:

1,166,995

Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education:

92,289

Church Marriages per Year:

36,916

Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics:

30,831

Priests:

14,263

Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters):

21,478

Catholics per Priest:

3,421

Parishes:

13,577

Mission Stations (no resident priests):

413

Catholic Hospitals:

Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids:

356

1. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
2.United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 revision.
3.United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Homicide Statistics 2015.
4.Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.
5.UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 2016.
6. Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022).
7.World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report, 2016.

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