Christianity was first introduced to Vietnam in 16th century and established a solid position in Vietnamese society since 17-18th centuries. At present Vietnam has the fourth-largest Roman Catholic population in Asia, after the Philippines, India and possibly the People's Republic of China. Roman Catholics and Protestants today constitute 7% and 1% of the country population accordingly; the newest census of Government shows that is 8% (7% Catholic and 1% Protestant) . Christian communes still remain under control of state authorities . Foreign missionaries legally are not allowed to proselytize or perform religious activities without government approval. Undeclared missionaries from several countries are active in Vietnam.