Statistics from the US

The following graph, tracking the numbers of nuns and priests in the USA has recently been published.

Covering the period from 1965 to the present, it shows that the number of nuns has declined by 72%, whereas the number of priests has declined by 35%. The population of the US has increased significantly during this period, as has the Catholic population. The most striking aspect is the difference between the rates of decline for nuns and for priests. In England and Wales, the trends are broadly similar, although the decline in the number of nuns has not been quite so fast.