---
title: "Geography of the Conclave: Where Do the Cardinals Come From?"
description: "The conclave to elect the next pope will begin on Tuesday, March 12. Half of the cardinal electors gathering at the Vatican are European (52%), while 17% come from Latin America. Latin America has the largest share of the world's Catholic population (39%), while 24% of Catholics live in Europe. "
date: "2013-03-08"
authors:
  - name: "Benjamin Wormald"
    job_title: "Senior Engineer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/benjamin-wormald/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/03/08/geography-of-the-conclave/"
---

# Geography of the Conclave: Where Do the Cardinals Come From?

The conclave to elect the next pope will [begin on Tuesday](http://en.radiovaticana.va/articolo.asp?c=671593), March 12, 2013. [The 115 cardinal electors ](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/03/CardinalElectors-CNS.pdf)(PDF) are [expected to deliberate](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/08/conclave-vatican-pope-cardinals/1972743/) for [a period lasting](http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/how-long-will-the-new-conclave-last) from one day to a week or more. The 2005 conclave that chose Benedict XVI lasted two days, while the election of Gregory X in 1271 took more than two years.

Just as the world's Catholic population is spread across the globe, the cardinal electors – members of the College of Cardinals who had not yet reached their 80th birthday on Feb. 28, the day the papacy became vacant – have gathered from all regions of the world. According to Pew Research Center data on the [distribution of the world's Catholic population](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/Christian/Catholic/The-Global-Catholic-Population.aspx), the region with the largest share of the Catholic population is Latin America and the Caribbean (39%), while 24% of the world’s Catholics live in Europe. According to the [Catholic News Service](http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1300878.htm), fully half of the cardinal electors are European (52%), and just 17% come from Latin America. In fact, 24% of the cardinal electors are from Italy, though less than 5% of the world’s Catholic population is Italian. Prior to the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978, all the popes since the early 16th century had come from Italy.

![conclave-graphic](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/03/PF_13.02.26_CardinalElectors_mapbar.png)