First Stake to be Organized in Tanzania on January 26th, 2025

Reports from Latter-day Saints living in Tanzania indicate that the Church will organize its first stake in the East African nation of Tanzania this Sunday. The Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake will be created from the Dar es Salaam Tanzania District, which was organized in 2005. Currently, there are 10 branches in the district, but it is unclear how many of these branches will become wards once the stake is organized.

Among countries with at least 2,000 Latter-day Saints, Tanzania provides a remarkable example of a nation that has experienced a dramatic shift from slow or stagnant growth to some of the most rapid growth rates in the worldwide Church over the past decade. From 2004 to 2018, there were only four branches in Dar es Salaam. It took nearly three decades for the Church to reach 2,000 members after its initial establishment in 1992. However, everything changed with the organization of the Tanzania Dar es Salaam Mission in 2020. Before this, the Kenya Nairobi Mission oversaw missionary efforts and Church administration in Tanzania, which meant limited resources were allocated to the nation’s 65.4 million people (2024 estimate).

Another major catalyst for growth was the Church’s decision in the 2010s to officially change the language used in Church administration and worship services from English to Swahili, enabling more effective missionary efforts. Church membership in Tanzania grew from 1,793 at the end of 2019 to 3,969 by the end of 2023. The number of branches in the country also increased significantly, from six in 2018 to 34 as of the end of 2024. Many of these new branches began as member groups to improve accessibility to worship services in major cities with an official Church presence.

Three additional districts were organized during this period of rapid growth: a second district in Dar es Salaam in 2022 (which reportedly will not be realigned or combined with the new stake) and the first districts in Arusha (2022) and Mwanza (2023). Given the higher member activity standards for new stake organization outside the United States, which were implemented in 2024, the creation of the first stake in Tanzania is an even greater accomplishment and a testament to the quality of this recent growth.

The creation of a second stake in Dar es Salaam also appears likely, as the Dar es Salaam Tanzania Chang'ombe District currently has eight branches and has experienced similarly impressive growth rates. Furthermore, the announcement of a temple in Dar es Salaam seems increasingly plausible given these developments, which establish a more self-sustaining center of strength for the Church in the area.

Despite this progress, the Church in Tanzania remains relatively small compared to the nation’s population. As of the end of 2023, only one in every 17,000 Tanzanians was a member on Church records, and only five cities have had branches organized.

For statistical data on the Church in Tanzania, click here.