ishtartv.com - catholicculture.org

August 04, 2017

The Christian population in nine Middle Eastern states is 14,526,000, down from 14,740,000 in 2010, according to a report published by the Vatican newspaper.

The total population of Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey is 258 million.

The report draws on a recent study by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association on Christians in the Middle East. The study documented sharp recent and historical declines in Christian population:

•in Syria, from 2.2 million (2010) to 1.2 million

•in Egypt, from 19% of the population (1910) to 10%

•in Lebanon, from 53% (1932) to less than 40%

•in Jerusalem, from 20% (1946) to less than 2%

•in Palestine, from 20% (1948) to 1.2