Religious statistics for 2002 are released (02/16/03)

Religious statistics for 2002 are released

Religious Information Service of Ukraine

LVIV - Ukraine's National Committee on Religious Matters at a press conference on February 4 released official information on the development of religious institutions in Ukraine in 2002 and presented statistics on religious organizations in Ukraine as of January 1 of this year.

According to the report, Ukraine is currently home to 28,567 religious organizations, including 27,480 religious communities that profess 54 different religions. More than 1,000 religious communities of the total number are unregistered.

During 2002 the number of religious organizations increased by 5.7 percent, constituting 1,423 organizations, 726 (52.4 percent) of which are Orthodox communities. Among these Orthodox communities, 525 (72.3 percent) belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). The total number of UOC-MP communities in Ukraine is 10,040.

The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church ranks second with its 3,334 communities. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate has 3,196 communities; the Baptist Church - 2,272; the Pentecostal Church of Evangelical Faith - 1,366; the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church - 1,110; the Seventh-Day Adventist Church - 928; the Roman Catholic Church - 847; and the Charismatic Church - 790.

There are also 262 Jewish communities and 462 Muslim communities in Ukraine, 320 of which are in Crimea. New religious organizations in Ukraine constitute 4.5 percent of the total number.

The number of religious buildings in Ukraine has increased by 478 and currently constitutes 19,112. Most religious communities, however, are not fully provided with church buildings. The Subcarpathian Reformed Church is the only religious organization whose needs in church buildings are completely satisfied, according to the report.

Today, 2,232 religious buildings are being built in Ukraine, among which 439 are funded by the state. Ukraine is also home to 26,000 religious ministers, 704 of whom are foreigners.

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