 The percentage of professing Catholics has been on the decrease over the last four decades, from over 98% in 1950 to 87.9% in 2000.The average annual growth of Catholic believers from 1990 to 2000 was 1.7% whereas that of non-Catholics was 3.7%.Given that the average annual population increase over the same time period was 1.8%, the percentage of Catholics in relation to the total population continues to be in overall decline.