Below is an updated list of the 19 countries/territories with the most Latter-day Saints (at least 1,500) without a stake. This list highlights countries where the Church has established a meaningful presence but has not yet reached the organizational maturity required to form a stake. According to the Church Handbook, the creation of a stake requires that several minimum qualifications be met. These include:
- At least 2,000 total members (active and less active) within the proposed stake boundaries
- At least 150 active, full-tithe-paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders capable of serving in leadership positions
- At least 500 participating adults
- At least 100 participating youth (recommended but not required)
- A minimum of five wards
These criteria underscore that stake organization depends not only on total membership, but more importantly on activity rates, leadership depth, and institutional maturity. Consequently, some countries with relatively large nominal membership totals may take longer to organize stakes if these core requirements are not yet met, whereas others with smaller but more active and concentrated membership may reach stake status sooner.
Membership totals by country are as of year-end 2025, whereas congregational and district totals are current. Estimated membership for mainland
China and Pakistan is provided as official statistics are unavailable. The
number of branches in mainland China is not provided due
to the sensitive nature of the
Church in that country. Previous lists of the countries with the most
members without a stake can be found here.
- China - 13,000 members? - 12 districts
- Malaysia - 11,769 members - 24 branches - 5 districts
- Guyana - 7,400 members - 12 branches - 2 districts
- Pakistan - 6,750 members? - 19 branches - 4 districts
- Belize - 5,741 members - 12 branches - 2 districts
- Rwanda - 3,625 members - 10 branches - 1 district
- Armenia - 3,579 members - 6 branches - 1 district
- Solomon Islands - 3,232 members - 11 branches - 1 district
- Romania - 3,127 members - 15 branches - 1 district
- Ethiopia - 2,626 members - 10 branches - 2 districts
- Eswatini - 2,598 members - 6 branches - 1 district
- Bulgaria - 2,424 members - 7 branches - 1 district
- Poland - 2,315 members - 11 branches - 1 district
- Lesotho - 2,278 members - 8 branches - 1 district
- Burundi - 2,070 members - 12 branches - 1 district
- Suriname - 1,991 members - 6 branches - 1 district
- Cook Islands - 1,890 members - 5 branches - 1 district
- Sri Lanka - 1,732 members - 4 branches - 1 district
- Macau - 1,595 members - 2 branches - 1 district
Cameroon was the only country removed from this list since April 2025, following the organization of its first stake in June 2025.
As noted in the 2025 list, prospects for near-term stake creation appear most favorable in mainland China, Malaysia, Guyana, Belize, Pakistan, Eswatini, Rwanda, Burundi, and Suriname, as each has at least one district approaching minimum stake qualifications. Rwanda appears most likely among the countries on this list to have its first stake created in the near future, given its rapid growth, relatively strong member activity rates, and the concentration of nearly all Latter-day Saints in the country within the capital, Kigali. The Solomon Islands and Lesotho also appear increasingly likely to have their first stakes organized within the next 1–2 years. Notably, several of the most likely candidates for near-term stake creation have relatively concentrated membership within 1-2 districts, suggesting that organizational efficiency and leadership development may be more decisive factors than total membership alone. In contrast, low activity rates, insufficient numbers of branches within individual districts, slow or stagnant growth, and limited numbers of full-tithe-paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders will likely continue to delay stake organization in other countries for several more years.
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ReplyDeleteAccording to the Puebla México Citlaltépetl District Facebook group page, today will be a historic Conference, not only just after the new meetinghouse open house held this last week.
ReplyDeleteIt will be presided by a General Authority Seventy and accompanied by a Area Seventy, which in my humble opinion is code for a new Stake creation from the District, with currently 7 branches on the Meetinghouse site.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2090511
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1464591192032558&set=a.607965417695144
Did Malaysia's numbers not get updated? Or are there literally the same number of members as there were in 2025?
ReplyDeleteThank you for catching this error. There were 11,769 members in Malaysia as of year-end 2025.
DeleteSo far in 2026, a lot of wards have been created in the Philippines, but no stakes. If it hasn't today, I anticipate this will change over the next couple of months.
ReplyDeleteThe new Mebane North Carolina stake was created today from the Greensboro and Durham stakes. Two more stakes are scheduled to be created in the state next month.
ReplyDeleteI anticipate we will see one or two new temples announced in North Carolina in the next few years or so. One in Greensboro and the other somewhere in east/southeastern part of the state. The Raleigh temple now has 15 stakes in its district and has yet to have a new temple announced within its district (Charlotte is part of the Columbia SC temple district which has had two new temples announced, Charlotte and Greenville, but has over 20 stakes in its district).
Do you think the growth is driven by in-migration or converts?
DeleteKnowing how NC has a lot of in-migration in general (not just LDS), so I believe that is a factor. Converts may also play a factor, but I have no data on that.
DeleteRwanda would seem to be a very string candidate. Malaysia has long faced issues with two issues. One is the fact that the current membership is somewhat spread out. The other is major leadership development issues in East Malaysia where over half of members are.
ReplyDeleteGuyana and Belize are areas that could get a stake but there are issues. Part of me wonders if things might be better if Belize were reassigned to thd Jamaica Mission. Jamaica is another place that took a while to get a stake. I want to say they got a stake while Kevin G. Brown was mission president.
Very correct on Malaysia's challenges. As I typically comment on it every year with the statistical report release, there has been a significant contraction of units over the past 10-15 years after some fairly rapid growth in the late '00s and early '10s. When I left my mission there in 2010, we thought a stake was imminent in the next 1-2 years with a second stake within 5 years. Sadly, it seems further away now than it did when I left.
DeleteNot sure if this is still a challenge there, but occasionally people with the means to do so would leave for better opportunities in other countries such as the US or perhaps Australia.
It seems that the age-old problems of leadership development and convert retention are afflicting the growth of the Church there.
Exciting things are happening in the TarHeel state (NC) with a new stake created today, officially known as the Mebane (pronounced Meh ben) Stake. It was created from the Durham and Greensboro stake. The Facebook post announced this change but also indicated two more stakes will be created in May in NC giving it a total of 23 stakes. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year they announce a Greensboro mission if missionary applications support it.
ReplyDeleteThe Charlotte temple can’t be built fast. To remind all the intermountain west folks, our stake center (20,000 sq ft) is bigger than the Raleigh temple (11,000 sq ft). There are 15 stakes assigned to our temple and now it sounds like it possibly will be 17 stakes. We are bursting at the seams in our little temple (I see you Columbia SC). If you haven’t been to one of these temples, we have 8 locker stalls so the temple president has to get creative with the session times unlike larger temples because of the limited space in the locker room. From what I can tell the Raleigh temple offers the most sessions for the size of the temple east of the Rocky Mountains (sessions per sq footage). It is a well used temple. The 6am Friday session is packed with lots of brothers attending before going off to work.
All the chapels are maxed out in the four stakes surrounding Raleigh with 3-5 unit per buildings.
The evangelical community is beginning to notice us and having interfaith dialogues. The tide is turning in the south. I see this happening in several states as well just as Pres Kimball said would happen as he peered into the future for the southeast of the US.
A new stake was created in North Carolina today, the Mebane North Carolina Stake. In May, two more stakes will be created in North Carolina, one in Mt. Airy and one in the greater Raleigh area.
ReplyDeleteA new stake was also created today in Harare Zimbabwe, primarily from a division of the Harare Zimbabwe Marimba Park Stake.
A new stake was also created in Zambia today, the Copperbelt Zambia Stake, which I gather is made up of the 2 districts in the mission.
ReplyDeleteFor any interested about recent growth on the European continent, I have just found in the Brussels Belgium North Stake (522945), during the last 6 months of 2025, the Antwerpen Ward (63010) was renamed Antwerpen 1st Ward (63010), probably the same time as the new Antwerpen 2nd Branch (Spanish) (2311933), was organized. Also, in the same period (June-December 2025, the old Hasselt Branch (319538) was reinstated. and counted as new on the fullerconsideration unit tracker site. And now this week a new Ward was organized, the Roeselare Ward (2322188), in the same Stake. So the work is moving on, even if just from Spanish or other migrants on the continent.
ReplyDelete22 2023-2025 Hasselt Branch Oudsbergen, Belgium
1027 2023-2025 Antwerpen 2nd Branch (Spanish) Merksem, Belgium
74 26-Apr-26 Roeselare Ward Roeselare, Belgium
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/522945
On another note, in the Bucaramanga Colombia Stake (515108), it was recently reported that both the Bucarica Ward (223573), and the El Tejar Ward (214787) have been consolidated. And the Cañaveral Ward (131415), was renamed the Floridablanca Ward (131415).
ReplyDeletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/515108
Alex,
ReplyDeleteEmigration of church members is an issue many places face. I would not be surprised if it is one faced by Indonesia. I think this was a very large part of why Jamaica took so long to get a stake, and I would not be surprised if it plays into the situation in Belize and Guyana.
The developments in North Carolina are encouraging.
There are lots of temples basically the size of Raleigh Temple with even smaller districts getting new temples. Detroit has at most 8 stakes and a district assigned to it (we have 7 full stakes and parts of 3 more, but I do not think that is more than 1 more stake) and yet we are getting a second temple in Michigan. So 2 more temples in North Carolina would seem doable. Greensboro/Winston Salem is probably going to be the next. I also agree somewhere in the eastern end of the state, but it is very hard to figure out which location in eastern North Carolina would make sense. i believe Fayetteville has the most members, but logistically it would make sense to put the temple more central to the east end of the state. On the other hand Harker's Island has the longest standing stable church presence. The island itself regularly gets hit by Hurricanes, so I have doubts putting a temple on the coast would make sense, and beyond that unless there was a place right on the coast that could be the major point of a temple district all on its own, putting a temple on the coast puts it a long way from much of the district.
It will be a little easier to predict once the other two new stakes are formed. I have to admit that if I have to place a guess on the temple for eastern North Carolina I would say put it in Kinston, with plans to place a temple in Fayetteville once a few more stakes are created. Fayetteville would not actually be any closer for the Greenville North Carolina. Morehead City North Carolina is also closer to Raleigh than to Fayetteville. So at present the Fayetteville temple might take in 4 stakes, which maybe is what Kinston would take in. Goldsboro might be able to take in six stakes, so it might be doable.
Based on Metro Raleigh and Mount Airy being the other two new stakes, I think Goldsboro would make the most sense. Unless the temple goes in Smithfield/ Pine Level area so it can be very close to I-95. I am hoping with Elder Amos in the United States Southeast Area presidency we see some things change. Elder Amos is African-American, raised in Louisiana (as was his wife), and he spent most of his adult life in Florida, and then was mission president in Lousiana (with much of Mississippi in his mission as well). He knows the southeast US as well as if not better than any other general authority.
ReplyDeleteI also think Greensboro, not Winston-Salem will get the temple. That will with these new stakes be 5 stakes for Greensboro Temple, 6 for Raleigh, and 6 for Goldsboro/Smithville. Wilmington and Morehead City are far enough away that it might actually be an option to give them a temple. Still both those places are under 2 hours from Goldsboro. In fact it is further from Wilmington to Morehead City than from Wilmington to Goldsboro. I just know where stakes are, if I knew where wards and branches were I might come up with a slightly different idea.
Mebane North Carolina Stake (2324105)
ReplyDeleteOrganized on 26 April 2026
- Caswell Ward
- Hillsborough Ward
- Mebane Ward
- Roxboro Branch
Mission: North Carolina Raleigh Mission
Temple: Raleigh North Carolina Temple
Copperbelt Zambia Stake (470457)
Reorganized from the Kitwe Zambia District on 26 April 2026
Mission: Zambia Lusaka Mission
The Ndola Zambia District hasn't been removed yet.
I don't see a new stake in Zimbabwe.
I don't see an upgrade of the Puebla México Citlaltépetl District.
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ReplyDeleteEastern NC Resident here. I think look to Greenville, Fayetteville and Wilmington/Myrtle Beach for temple sites longer term. Greenville recently acquired land for a new stake center that has acreage beyond what is needed for only a stake center. I am told Myrtle Beach is also in the process of buying land for a stake center. Agree that Greensboro area is also a very likely locale for a future temple.
ReplyDeleteGreenville falls in my "Top 60" list (but not my "Top 20")(21-60) as my Winston-Salem prediction. Wilmington is on my 2nd group of 60 (61-120). Both Kinston and Fayetteville fell on my 3rd group of 60 (121-180) with Kinston soring slightly higher.
DeleteThree NC locations made my top 10 as the most likely temples to be announced in the US SE Area (see below) - more than any other state in US SE Area. The reason Winston-Salem is not higher on my list is because of how close it is to the nearest temple.
United States Southeast Area
1. Mobile Alabama
2. Little Rock Arkansas
3. Jackson Mississippi
4. Winston-Salem North Carolina
5. Charleston SC/Savannah GA
6. Hopkinsville Kentucky
7. Wilmington/Myrtle Beach
8. Ft Pierce FL
9. Kinston NC
10. Kingsport TN
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?hl=en&mid=1G7hdBBWl07qNmfixCPEyCf7dAOKzzjw&ll=10.028608009536745%2C0&z=2
It's common to see church buildings in the NA SE Area on large tracks of land. There's 3 buildings in my stake on property large enough to also have a temple, which I find common in the NA SE Area.
DeleteWhile many are being built alongside meetinghouses (Most in NA SE area are adjacent to a meetinghouse), many are also being announced and built as a stand alone. Consequently, a purchased property is not to be assumed as a temple announcement.
The Raleigh Temple appear to be well-used which could trigger others being announced. However, this temple district is being split in multiple directions. None of the four announced temples in the Carolinas and Southern VA have made it to groundbreaking. I maybe wrong, but the church may want to wait for these to move further before announcing others nearby.
One other thought, Greenville and Wilmington are both on Matt's less likely prediction list. Many temple announcements come off of this list. Since I started making my lists, 2/3 of announcements came off of my top two categories that make my "Top 60" (41% top 20 and 68% top 60).
Deletehttps://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1W60CDwd4qDDMA3tW74z8g-2WxNw&femb=1&ll=11.407952373362193%2C0&z=2
great insight! one note on Kinston...i see it keep popping up in notes, but it is no longer a stake center and has one ward. Greenville and Goldsboro are the closest current stake centers and Kinston is currently a part of the Greenville, NC stake. Meetinghouse Locater has Kinston incorrectly noted as a stake center. I do see some of the geographic appeal to it regardless of whether or not it is a stake center.
DeleteFYI Here is my current Church Missions and Temple Districts (my version) project for the North American continent. With current 2025 mission boundaries before the July 2026 new missions go into effect.
ReplyDeleteI have completed the Utah, United States Central and Northeast areas, minus the Virginia Richmond mission boundary. In a pink-purple 8pt borders.
And the Southeast area returned to individual stake colors. For the United States Southwest and West areas, the missions are color coded. I have to download the individual Stake colors again.
The Canada, Caribbean, Central America and Mexico Areas, I left the individual colors for now.
With a lot of points, it may take several minutes to load. It includes even the 200mi drive/3hour distances borrowed from Logans map.
https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1OcupgIeo6LW4Uxr_Xwt_dkCFtg0oXfIv?usp=sharing
I wonder what the possibility of the Bungoma Kenya District (2309661), that recently organized a 6th branch, the Marakusi Branch (2331128), of becoming a stake in near future. It has a conference planned next month on May 31st, and again a month later on July 12th.
ReplyDelete145 Apr 29, 2026 Marakusi Branch
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2309661
FYI, this is just an observation. I have no facts either way.
I was recently told by a member living there that a split of the Granada, Spain stake is in the works. There are currently not 10 wards in the stake, so if true this suggests that either some wards will split, some branches will advance to wards, or some combination of the two.
ReplyDelete--Felix
It’s interesting that there are that many branches in Malaysia and no stakes
ReplyDeleteKuala Lumpur, with 8 branches is the most likely to become a stake. Singapore and Brunei are cut out of Malaysia.
DeleteMalaysia is also the country with the most members without a temple. However, I believe it will be quite some time before it gets a temple unless they get a hard border with Singapore (currently visa-free). The Singapore temple serves only the Singapore and Malaysian members once all currently announced temples are complete, and is basically central for Malaysia. Consequently, I would imagine Togo/Benin, Malawi, and Jamaica will all get their first temple before Malaysia.
Here's the official Facebook announcement of the 7th Stake in Harare Zimbabwe. Although unknown if the official name is just the Kuwadzana Zimbabwe Stake? or more traditional title of the "Harare Zimbabwe Kuwadzana Stake"?
ReplyDeleteEven though at the moment of this email it still hasn't appeared on the meetinghouse site or which wards were assigned.
Harare Zimbabwe Marimba Park Stake | Harare | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Harare-Zimbabwe-Marimba-Park-Stake/61573504206182/#
PS. No news on the Puebla Mexico Citaltepetl District last weekend presided by 2 general authorities either. Does it take a general authority or 2 to dedicate a new meetinghouse. They had their new meetinghouse open house a few days before. Maybe that was the reason of the visit? No posts on facebook site of the new stake. I tried the mission page. but it's private.
Distrito Citlaltépetl | San Salvador el Seco | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/DistritoCitlaltepetl
A stake in Perth, Australia looks likely to be consolidated on May 17th. Two stakes with conference that day, one just closed a ward, and the two stakes only have 9 wards combined.
ReplyDelete