EUROPE/ITALY - Jesuits: the highest presence is confirmed in South Asia

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - According to information sent to Fides from the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, to 1 January 2012 the total number of Jesuits was 17,637 units, with an overall decrease of 296 members compared to the previous year, confirming that there has been a steady decrease in recent years, although the latter is less marked.
The Jesuits today include 12,526 priests, 1,470 brothers and 2,896 scholastics and 745 novices. The scholastics have increased by (+ 34) in the last year, while priests have decreased (- 203), brothers (- 63) and novices (- 64).
Grouped into 84 Provinces, 5 independent Regions and 10 dependent Regions, the Jesuits are present to a greater extent in South Asia, with 4,036 members, followed by the U.S. province (2547), Southern Europe (2,119), and Central and East Europe (1681), Asia-Pacific (1,649), Western Europe (1603), Africa (1491), Southern Latin America (1265) and Northern Latin America (1246). (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/5/2012)