Vatican City - The number of priests has decreased worldwide in the last quarter-century, with the sharpest fall in Europe - where there are now 20 percent fewer Roman Catholic clerics, the Vatican said.
Experts say the reasons for the drop are complex, but they cite increasing secularization in Europe; some also cite a broader culture that devalues celibacy.
The Vatican, in figures released Saturday, said the number of priests worldwide fell from 420,971 in 1978 to 405,891 in 2004 - a decrease of 3.5 percent. A Vatican statement called the decline "rather disappointing."
In Europe, the number of priests fell by 20 percent - from 250,498 in 1978 to 199,978 in 2004.
In Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, the numbers of priests fell by 14 percent.
But in Africa, the numbers increased - from 16,926 to 31,259 - a rise of nearly 85 percent. Asia also showed more priests over the period - from 27,700 to 48,222 - for an increase of 74 percent.
Latin America and North America together saw a slight increase, with the number of priests rising 1 percent - from 120,271 to 121,634.
The Vatican did not provide a further geographic breakdown, but the latest figures for the United States show a drop from 58,632 priests in 1965 to 42,839 in 2005 - a decrease of 26 percent, according to CARA, a research center on the Catholic Church affiliated with Georgetown University.