Ordained Ministry Statistics for the Church of England
All ordained ministers (nearly 20,000 in total)
- A third (33%) of those in ordained ministry in 2020 were female, which has continued the gradual increase in the proportion of women (28% in 2016).
- The average (mean) age in 2020 of stipendiary clergy was 52.5 years; self supporting ordained ministers (including ordained local ministers) were aged, on average, 62.3 years; and those with Permission to Officiate (PTO) were on average 74.9 years old.
- The total number of stipendiary clergy dropped slightly during 2020.
- Women made up 32% of stipendiary ministers in 2020, which has increased gradually from 28% in 2016.
- Over a quarter (27%) of stipendiary clergy in senior posts (including Archbishop, Diocesan or Suffragan Bishop, Cathedral Dean, other Cathedral clergy such as residentiary canons and Archdeacon) in 2020 were female, an increase from 21% in 2016.
- In 2020, as in recent previous years, 91% of stipendiary clergy were full time and 94% of stipendiary clergy worked in parochial roles.
Ordinations in 2020 (570 in total)
- In 2020 more females (55%, up from 51% in 2019) were ordained than males (45%).
- The average (mean) age at ordination to deacon in 2020 was 45.9 years – higher for females (48.6 years) and lower for males (42.3 years).
- In 2020, 57% of ordinations were to stipendiary posts, a drop on the previous 4 years.
- For stipendiary ordinations, the average age in 2020 was 40.3 years, whilst for self supporting ordinations it was 54.8 years, similar to the last few years for stipendiary ordinations, but a slight decrease in age for self supporting ordinations.
• 8.9% of stipendiary clergy ordained in 2020 were from a UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) background
Ordinands beginning training in 2020 (580 in total).
- In 2020, as in the previous 2 years, more females than males began training (54% females, 46% males).
- Nearly a quarter (23%) of all ordinands beginning their training in 2020 were aged under 32, and nearly two fifths (39%) were aged under 40.
- The average age at the beginning of training in 2020 was 42.9 years; this has ranged between 41 and 43 over the previous 5 years.
- Those training with the intention of stipendiary ministry made up nearly three quarters (72%) of all ordinands beginning training in 2020, similar to the 73% in 2019.
- The increase in ordinands between 2019 and 2020 was found in both those training for stipendiary and self supporting ministries.
- 10.9% of ordinands beginning training in 2020 identified themselves as from UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) backgrounds, which is higher than the proportion found in the current pool of stipendiary clergy (4.1% identifying as UKME, though note the proportion of missing data is much higher for this group).
All figures taken from the 2021 Church of England Research Statistics page 3.
