Women & Men Religious -- 1945 to 2000| | 1945 | 1965 | 1985 | 2000 | Change | | Priests | 12,413 | 21,781 | 20,448 | 15,143 | -30% | | Brothers | 7,003 | 13,152 | 10,226 | 8,448 | -36% | | Sisters | 122,159 | 173,865 | 118,840 | 79,876 | -54% | Total Catholics (in millions)
| 21.9 | 41.5 | 52.3 | 60.8 | 47% | Statistics provided by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) |