A Glance into the Catalogus: Ratios of Monks to Populations
Another installment of interesting data from the recent Catalogus.
Abbot Jeremias with the monks of Abu Gosh in Israel
2 juillet 2026
The recently completed Catalogus Monasteriorum OSB, a list of all Benedictine monks, provides us with lots of data. In the May issue of NEXUS we published lists of the countries with the highest number of monks. The USA easily tops that list.
Here we now give lists of the number of monks relative to the population of the country, and to the monks per Catholics. Be ready to be surprised!
The 24th edition of the Catalogus is available exclusively to members of the Confederation and the Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum. Copies may be secured for €50 plus postage through EOS Verlag at Saint Ottilien Abbey or collected in person from the Sant’Anselmo Administration office in Rome.
Benedictine Monks per 1 Million Inhabitants
| Country | Monks per Million |
|---|---|
| Austria | 28,7 |
| Luxembourg | 16,2 |
| Switzerland | 13,9 |
| Italy | 8,4 |
| Belgium | 8,2 |
| France | 7,7 |
| Hungary | 7,1 |
| Togo | 7,1 |
| Germany | 6,0 |
| Trinidad | 6,0 |
| Ireland | 5,1 |
| Tanzania | 4,8 |
| Lithuania | 4,1 |
| Viet Nam | 3,1 |
| United States | 3,0 |
| Guatemala | 3,0 |
| United Kingdom | 2,9 |
| Korea, Republic of | 2,9 |
| Spain | 2,7 |
| Slovakia | 2,6 |
| Portugal | 2,6 |
| Rwanda | 2,5 |
| Netherlands | 2,1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1,9 |
| Israel | 1,8 |
| Senegal | 1,8 |
| Czech Republic | 1,7 |
| Zambia | 1,6 |
| Puerto Rico | 1,6 |
| Croatia | 1,5 |
| Canada | 1,5 |
| Poland | 1,4 |
| Argentina | 1,1 |
| Burkina Faso | 1,0 |
| Chile | 1,0 |
| Brazil | 1,0 |
| Kenya | 0,8 |
| Cameroon | 0,8 |
| Colombia | 0,8 |
| South Africa | 0,8 |
| Uganda | 0,7 |
| Guinea | 0,7 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 0,6 |
| Paraguay | 0,6 |
| Philippines | 0,6 |
| Madagascar | 0,6 |
| Australia | 0,5 |
| Mexico | 0,5 |
| Slovenia | 0,5 |
| Congo | 0,5 |
| Cuba | 0,5 |
| Ghana | 0,3 |
| Haiti | 0,3 |
| Venezuela | 0,2 |
| Nigeria | 0,2 |
| India | 0,2 |
| Peru | 0,1 |
| Egypt | 0,043 |
| China | 0,004 |
Benedictine Monks per 1 Million Catholics
| Country | Monks per Million Catholics |
|---|---|
| Israel | 100,0 |
| Austria | 52,8 |
| Vietnam | 44,1 |
| Switzerland | 41,7 |
| United Kingdom | 33,0 |
| Senegal | 33,0 |
| Sri Lanka | 29,3 |
| Luxembourg | 27,5 |
| Tanzania | 27,3 |
| Germany | 25,5 |
| Guinea | 25,0 |
| Korea | 24,7 |
| Togo | 24,1 |
| Trinidad | 22,5 |
| Hungary | 17,4 |
| United States | 17,0 |
| Egypt | 16,7 |
| Czech Republic | 16,4 |
| Belgium | 13,9 |
| South Africa | 12,6 |
| France | 11,2 |
| India | 10,7 |
| Italy | 9,8 |
| Netherlands | 9,7 |
| Zambia | 8,3 |
| Ireland | 7,3 |
| Guatemala | 6,1 |
| Lithuania | 5,5 |
| Rwanda | 5,4 |
| Burkina Faso | 5,3 |
| Canada | 4,7 |
| Kenya | 4,3 |
| Slovakia | 4,1 |
| Spain | 3,6 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 3,5 |
| Portugal | 3,2 |
| Ghana | 3,0 |
| Puerto Rico | 2,8 |
| Australia | 2,4 |
| Cameroon | 2,2 |
| Madagascar | 2,0 |
| Croatia | 1,9 |
| Argentina | 1,8 |
| Chile | 1,7 |
| Refuges/Uganda | 1,7 |
| Poland | 1,6 |
| Brazil | 1,6 |
| Nigeria | 1,3 |
| Colombia | 1,0 |
| Congo | 0,9 |
| Cuba | 0,8 |
| Paraguay | 0,7 |
| Philippines | 0,7 |
| Mexico | 0,7 |
| Slovenia | 0,7 |
| Haiti | 0,5 |
| China | 0,4 |
| Venezuela | 0,3 |
| Peru | 0,2 |
N.B. The figures for population and Catholics are drawn from publicly available internet resources and may not be entirely accurate.
For countries with less than one million inhabitants or Catholics, the calculated number given here is a calculated proportional value and exceeds the actual number of monks living in that country.
Benedictine Moments During the Papal Visit to Spain
Sant’Anselmo and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Sign Cooperation Agreement
L’atelier du Prieur : comment l’art et la pleine conscience façonnent le leadership à Europakloster Gut Aich
Vers le Jubilé : Construire le réseau mondial
-
A Glance into the Catalogus: Ratios of Monks to Populations
Maintenir la fidélité en temps de guerre : Une visite en Ukraine