The conclave's cardinals in numbers

Italian tailor, Raniero Mancinelli, 86, works on a cardinal's cassock in his shop in Borgo Pio, Vatican. [Tiziana Fabi, AFP]

One hundred and thirty-three cardinals, with an average age of 70, mostly chosen by the late Pope Francis, are set to vote for his successor at the conclave beginning on Wednesday.

While many of them will as usual be from Europe, and particularly Italy, they will this time be less in number.

During his pontificate, Francis made a point of appointing more cardinals from the "peripheries" of the Catholic world.

Of the 252 cardinals, who form the top echelon of the Catholic Church, only those aged under 80 vote for a new pope in the conclave. So 117 of them will not be present in the Sistine Chapel.

Two others, aged under 80, have declined for health reasons: John Njue from Kenya and Antonio Canizares Llovera from Spain.

Europe will continue to be the best-represented region with 52, or 39 percent of the cardinal electors. That is down on 2013, when Europeans formed more than half -- 52 percent, or 60 out of 115 of the cardinals at the conclave which chose Pope Francis.

Asia comes second with 23 cardinals, followed by Central and Latin America (21), Africa (17), North America (16) and Oceania (four), according to the Holy See.

Italy will still have the most representatives at 17. However that is down on the 28 the home of the Vatican had in 2013.