Ethan Walker
Catholicism is the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States, with 65% of U.S. Latinos saying they were raised Catholic. However, the number of Catholics in Central America is declining, with the number of Latin Americans who say they don't have a religion jumping by six percentage points from 2010 to 2020. In 2014, about half of the population in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua was Catholic, while roughly four-in-ten adults described themselves as Protestant. In 2025, 13.8% of the world's Catholics were found in Central America, with a shortage of priests in the region.
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What You'll Learn
Central America has 13.8% of the Americas' Catholics
Central America is home to 13.8% of the Americas' Catholics, according to 2025 data. While Catholicism is losing its dominance in Latin America, it remains the majority religion across much of the region. In 2014, about half of the population was Catholic in three Central American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. In the same year, relatively few religiously unaffiliated Latin Americans reported attending weekly religious services, with only 3% of unaffiliated adults in Puerto Rico doing so.
Catholicism has historically influenced Latin American laws and politics. However, its decline is impacting policies in some countries. For instance, several countries have recently decriminalized abortion, recognized gay marriage, and advanced transgender rights. The number of Latin Americans who do not identify with any religion increased by six percentage points from 2010 to 2020, according to Latinobarómetro. The percentage of people identifying as Catholic dropped from 70% in 2010 to 57% in 2020.
In the United States, Catholicism is still the largest faith among Latinos, although its share has declined over the past decade. As of 2023, about three-in-ten U.S. Latinos with Central American origins (31%) identify as evangelical Protestants, a higher proportion than those with roots in Puerto Rico (15%) or Mexico (12%). Among Latino Catholics, 21% are Republicans, while 72% identify as Democrats.
While there has been a general decline in the number of priests in the Americas, Central and Latin America have witnessed an increase in diocesan clergy. In Central America, the number of priests constitutes 5.4% of the total, serving 11.6% of Catholics. The region has also seen a slowdown in the decline of professed religious brothers who are not priests.
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Catholicism is declining in Latin America
The decrease in the number of Catholics is evident in the reduction of baptisms, confirmations, and Catholic marriages. The number of annual baptisms, for example, dropped from 8,197,000 in 2000 to 5,135,000 in 2020. This trend is also reflected in the decline in the number of white Americans who identify as Catholic, with non-white Catholics nearing parity in the U.S. today.
The growth of evangelical faiths, such as Pentecostalism, has contributed to the decline of Catholicism in Latin America. In Brazil, the number of people identifying as evangelical increased from 3% in 2000 to 22% in 2020. The Catholic Church's influence has also been impacted by scandals, such as accusations of turning a blind eye to past dictatorships' human rights abuses and clergy sex abuse cases in Chile, leading to an historic low in trust for the institution.
While Catholicism is declining in most Latin American countries, Mexico stands out as an exception, remaining overwhelmingly Catholic. In 2023, Mexico was one of only three countries, along with Peru and Colombia, where over 60% of the population identified as Catholic. Despite the overall decline, Catholicism remains socially ingrained in Latin American culture, with many still celebrating traditions like Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day).
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Central American countries with the most Catholics
While the number of Catholics in Central America is growing, the religion is seeing a decline in some countries. According to a 2014 survey, three Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua—had about half of their populations identifying as Catholic. Roughly four-in-ten adults in these countries described themselves as Protestant.
In 2022, the Pew Research Center found that Latinos in the U.S. were also moving away from Catholicism, with nearly a quarter of U.S. Hispanics being former Catholics. However, Catholicism remains the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States.
In 2020, the Latinobarómetro survey found that the percentage of people identifying as Catholic in Latin America had dropped from 70% in 2010 to 57% in 2020. The survey also revealed that the number of Latin Americans who said they did not have a religion jumped by six percentage points from 2010 to 2020.
Despite the decline in some countries, Catholicism remains socially ingrained in Latin American culture, with many still celebrating Catholic traditions like Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day). In 2025, it was reported that 13.8% of the world's Catholics reside in Central America.
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Central American countries with the fewest Catholics
While Catholicism remains the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States, its share among Latino adults has been steadily declining over the past decade. In Central America, the number of Catholics is estimated to be around 11.6% of the region's population.
In 2014, three Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua—had about half of their populations identifying as Catholic, while roughly four-in-ten adults in these countries described themselves as Protestant. The gaps between Protestants and Catholics in terms of religious commitment were smallest in Guatemala (17 points), Costa Rica (15 points), and Honduras (8 points).
By 2020, the percentage of people identifying as Catholic in Latin America as a whole had dropped from 70% in 2010 to 57%. This decline is also reflected in the decreasing number of priests in the region, which saw a 0.7% decrease in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Panama experienced the largest decrease in the share of Catholic believers between 2000 and 2023, plummeting from 82.8% to 33.4%. However, specific data for Central American countries besides Panama was not readily available. Nonetheless, the decline of Catholicism in Latin America, including Central America, is evident, as the number of people identifying as having no religion is increasing, and other faiths, particularly evangelical faiths, are growing.
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Central America has a shortage of priests
Central America is facing a shortage of priests. While the total number of priests worldwide has remained relatively stable since 1970, the Catholic population has nearly doubled, growing from 653.6 million in 1970 to 1.229 billion in 2012. This has resulted in a significant increase in the ratio of Catholics per priest, which stood at 3,126 in 2012.
The shortage of priests is particularly acute in Latin America, which is home to more than 40% of the world's Catholics. In Brazil, the percentage of the population that identifies as Catholic has steadily dropped, falling from 90% in 1980 to two-thirds by 2007. The situation is similar in other Latin American countries, with Panama experiencing the largest decrease in the share of Catholic believers, dropping from 82.8% to 33.4% between 2000 and 2023.
Various factors have contributed to the priest shortage in Central America. One factor is the multiple years of schooling required to become a priest. Additionally, the requirement of celibacy and the lack of encouragement from communities to pursue priesthood as a career path have also played a role. The Catholic Church's history of sexual abuse scandals has also marred the image of the priesthood, making it less appealing to potential candidates.
The priest shortage has led to the creation of "megachurches" in some areas, such as the St. Charles Borromeo congregation in California's Central Valley, which serves more than 14,000 families. These megachurches merge multiple parishes into one large congregation to compensate for the lack of priests. However, this also means that priests in these areas are responsible for serving a much larger number of parishioners, which can be challenging.
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Frequently asked questions
13.8% of the world's Catholics reside in Central America, with significant Catholic populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
While Catholicism remains the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States, there has been a decline in the number of Catholics in Central America over time.
Catholicism is still ingrained in Latin American culture, with many celebrating Catholic traditions. However, the percentage of people identifying as Catholic has decreased, with a rise in those identifying as evangelical.
The Americas, including Central America, have the largest share of the world's Catholics at 47.8%. South America has the highest concentration, with Brazil having the highest number of Catholics globally.
The percentage of Catholics varies across Central American countries, with higher rates in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, and lower rates in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala.
