How Many Anglicans Are There?
Diocesan Press Service. November 6, 1967 [59-3]
How many Anglicans are there in the world? According to statistics compiled for the forthcoming Lambeth Conference baptized Anglicans number 47,198,230.
Figures recently released also show that there are 40,498 clergy to minister to these persons.
The largest number of Anglicans, as would be expected, is in England -- 27, 600,000. Australia follows next with 4,149, 000 and then the United States with 3,416,100 and Canada with 2,409, 100.
Wales, South Africa, Uganda and the West Indies all have over one million Anglicans. The smallest, numerically, is also the newest, the Igreja Episcopal do Brazil with 38,000 members. On a percentage basis, however, the smallest is the Holy Catholic Church in Japan, with 48, 000 members out of a population of 93. 5 million.
The Anglican Communion supports 59,672 church buildings, ranging from very small, insubstantial structures in underdeveloped rural areas to huge metropolitan cathedrals. It also runs 107 theological colleges, 9,905 schools, and 184 hospitals.
Involved in carrying out the ministry of the Anglican Church, along with the 40,498 clergy, are 48,198 lay workers and teachers, and 533 bishops. In addition to the active bishops mentioned above, there are also 163 retired bishops.
What these figures mean, and how they will shape the future course of the Anglican Communion will be, undoubtedly, one of the major concerns of those bishops who will be attending the Lambeth Conference this coming summer.