The Church recently organized its first official branch in the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. The São Tomé Branch is under the direct supervision of the Angola Luanda Mission and serves the capital city of São Tomé, where approximately 40% of the nation's population resides. The country has a population of approximately 210,000 and Portuguese is the official language.
The Angola Luanda Mission has overseen missionary efforts in São Tomé and Príncipe since the mission's creation in 2013. In March 2015, the mission president visited the country, met with isolated members, and conducted a sacrament meeting. In 2017, the first known Latter-day Saint from São Tomé and Príncipe began missionary service in the Cape Verde Praia Mission. Progress accelerated in 2025 when the first full-time missionaries were assigned to the country. Later that year, Elder Ronald A. Rasband dedicated the nation for missionary work, the first convert baptisms were performed, and a member group was organized.
The organization of a branch less than one year after the assignment of full-time missionaries highlights the receptivity of local residents and the rapid development of the Church in the country. Prospects for future growth appear favorable, particularly if full-time missionaries continue to be assigned on a consistent basis and recent converts are successfully retained, strengthened, and prepared for leadership responsibilities. Given the country's small population and concentrated urban center, sustained missionary efforts could establish a stable and self-sufficient local Church presence in the coming years notwithstanding remote location and a relative small population.
38 comments:
Glad to see the church expanding! I wonder how many countries have yet to have a branch?
I understand some countries that doesn't recognize the church has branches (ie. China and Saudi Arabia), and that some that recognize the church does so with varying limitations, (ie. limitations on proselyting, street contacting, etc.).
Having lived, worked and worshipped in the two countries you named (PRChina and KSA), I would like to distinguish countries where there are no branches and countries that have branches, but there are no native people in the branches; only expatriates in the branches. In the larger category of those countries with no branches. The third category that David alludes to are those counties with branches but no missionaries and proselytizing is greatly restricted (no church literature other than your own, no discussions other than answering questions, other prohibition to membership or worship by local nationals):
Countries with no branches:
Algeria
Libya
Tunisia
Western Sahara
Mauritania
Niger
Chad
Yemen
Somalia
Sudan
Djibouti
Eritrea
Iraq
Iran
Turkmenistan
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Monaco
Andora
San Marino
Liechtenstein
Afghanistan
Seychelles
Maldives
Comoros
Myanmar
Laos
Nepal
North Korea
Bhutan
Bangladesh
Countries with branches, but no native members
Azerbaijan
Kuwait
Bahrain
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Oman
Morocco
Branches: No proselytizing, no missionaries, other restrictions in these countries, but have branches of native members:
China
Russia
Lebanon
Syria
Jordan
Israel
Egypt
Cuba
Ukraine
There are two special sub-state or states gestating where there is some opening to proselytizing that I would like to recognize: Kurdistan Iraq and Somaliland.
Steve, I don't want to cause any dissention. Your list may be outdated.
On your list of Countries with no branches you listed Tunisia above.
You may want to review the Meetinghouse site for the below branch in the Cairo Egypt District
The Tunis Branch (167258), that covers the whole country of Tunisia on the map.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/167258
Laos, Myanmar and Bangladesh (branches like PRC and Saudi Arabia, may not be visible to us common folk on the meetinghouse site.)
Unknown if the previous branches were closed or just marked sensitive.
Dhaka Branch (304581)
Kathmandu Branch (304956)
Vientiane 1st Branch (428523)
Yangon Branch (430234)
I missed also
Vientiane 2nd Branch (2054965)
For Djibouti (probably expats) on the meetinghouse site.
Africa Central Area - Djibouti Branch
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2109611
For Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan, (although possibly closed or marked *sensitive like other countries PRC, KSA)
Africa Southeast Area - Somalia Branch (Administrative) (1626213)
Africa Southeast Area - Eritrea Branch (Administrative) (1626248)
Africa Southeast Area - Sudan Branch (Administrative) (2109603)
Hi Steve - There are also official branches in Iraq (both for foreigners and native Kurdish members). There are member groups in several of these countries too, like Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Matt, I also debated whether to add Maldives also, since the whole country is under the India South Branch (but not a stand alone branch, similar to the cases of the european microstates).
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/477605
Thank you one and all. I do now remember that there is one in Tunis, and a few in Laos. I remember that Dhaka got a new building about five years when you could still see it on the church meetinghouse map. I was at their new building four years ago on business when I was working Tel Aviv for an Israeli company. I was at a meeting of expats in Tashkent 10 years ago and tried to find out if it was still there about six months ago and got no response.
I am friends with one of the first Kyrgyz members who was instructed with his family after six hour road trips from Bishkek to Almaty in 2003. He was baptized in Almaty in Russian. He is in a neighboring ward here in Minneapolis. I just left him a note to see if there was a branch when he went to his 92 year old mother's funeral in Bishkek in January. He is working with the Kyrgyz government for the church to get recognized.
Matt, I went to Irbil, Kurdistan Iraq on business in 2022 and there was a group meeting with a couple doing humanitarian work for the church from the US, a Canadian, an Australian, and Israeli friend of mind who was the business trip from Tel Aviv with me, when I was working for an Israeli company. Glad to hear it is still there, I hope it is growing.
As an Israeli-American, born of a Moroccan Jewish mother, I have had the rare privilege while working from China for global Chinese companies and from Saudi and Israeli global companies, all in the tech sector, to visit, live and work in so many countries where the church is not recognized and where recognized in its' infancy.
Once again, thank all of you for your corrections and improvements.
In a number of countries missionaries are not able to proselyte as we know it. Of the top six most populated cities, only Tokyo allows proselyting as most of us know
Guangzhou, China: ~73,600,000 inhabitants
Shanghai, China:~42,300,000 inhabitants
Tokyo, Japan: ~41,300,000 inhabitants
Delhi, India: ~36,900,000 inhabitants
Jakarta, Indonesia: ~29,800,000 inhabitants
Mumbai, India: ~28,100,000 inhabitants
China: at least as of a few years ago, separate congregations for citizens/international members, no missionaries... Last year multiple news outlets reported China closed congregations in Beijing and other cities. Meetinghouse locator still shows the 4 international districts but the branch locations and meeting times are not listed on the webpage with exception of the Shanghai Branch. The church still show the Shanghai Temple as announced.
India. Visa travel restrictions for missionaries from outside the country so the church relies on those called from within the countries and senior missionaries who obtain business visas. (ai sourced) However, the church continues to grow.
Indonesia: Proselyting to Muslims and people of other faiths is prohibited. Foreign missionaries are not permitted (ai sourced). However, excluding a slight decline in membership last year, the church continues to grow.
The european micro states that have no congregations, have native members that attend a congregation nearby.
This is wonderful news, and it is fascinating to see the information that only a small percentage of countries don't have branches of the church. But some things I don't understand. How can we move forward with building a temple in the United Arab Emirates if there are no native members there?
Yes. I just asked which ones does not a congregation. Most countries without congregations probably has members. Just not enough criteria to have a branch or political environment prohibits a branch from being established.
However, Vatican City was left off the list. I'm sure there's others.
The temple would be for the non-natives, and natives if it ever opens up. Word on the Dubai Temple has been quiet since 2022. Lots of word about the temple was to be placed at the Expo 2020 site once the expo was over in 2022, but the expo came and went and all press has gone silent concerning it.
Russia and China has reversed their course on Freedom of Religion (not just our faith). The church is very restricted in Russia and it appears that those still in Mainland China has had to go underground with their worship (if they're still able to worship) as it's reported that congregations had to close.
David McFadden - That is not true about branches in mainland China closing. There are approximately 70-80 branches as of year-end 2025.
The following are countries (not all of which are necessarily full, independent nation-states) with no branch. Note that some of these have administrative branches (including Djibouti, which is not a "real" branch these days, but just an administrative one).
Libya
Wallis and Futuna Islands (as an overseas collectivity of France it has a very confusing status, but is semi-autonomous, so I am including it for the sake of completeness)
Montserrat
Chad
Bouvet Island (a possession of Norway, but not part of Norway itself)
Seychelles
Western Sahara
Niger
Burkina Faso
Maldives
Greenland (an autonomous country that is part of the Danish realm, but not of Denmark)
Eritrea
Djibouti
Liechtenstein
Bhutan
British Indian Ocean Territory (who knows what status it actually has, as opposed to on paper, vis-a-vis the UK and Mauritius)
Iran
Saint Helena (as a British Overseas Territory, it is not legally or constitutionally part of the UK, but does fall under the sovereignty of the British Crown)
North Korea
Comoros
Algeria
Equatorial Guinea
Saint Barthelemy
Somalia
Uzbekistan
Andorra (there is a branch named the Andorra Branch, which includes Andorra in its boundaries, but the chapel is located in Spain)
Gibraltar
Kyrgyzstan
San Marino
Afghanistan
Palestine (depending on what view one takes regarding the territorial claims regarding the land the BYU Jerusalem Center is on)
Pitcairn Islands
Monaco
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (as an overseas collectivity of France it has a very confusing status, but is semi-autonomous, so I am including it for the sake of completeness)
Saint Martin (also an overseas collectivity of France)
Tokelau (as a colony of New Zealand, it is part of the Realm of New Zealand, but not part of New Zealand itself, so I am including it for the sake of completeness)
Brunei
Turkmenistan
Mauritania
Anguilla (as a British Overseas Territory, it is not legally or constitutionally part of the UK, but does fall under the sovereignty of the British Crown)
Faroe Islands (an autonomous country that is part of the Danish realm, but not of Denmark)
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (as a British Overseas Territory, it is not legally or constitutionally part of the UK, but does fall under the sovereignty of the British Crown)
Tajikistan
Vatican City
Sudan
Yemen
--Felix
I also meant to include the Falkland Islands on that list, as these days it only has an administrative branch.
Since Chris D. sounded a little uncertain about his answer regarding these countries, I can confirm he is correct, they do still have branches (not just administrative branches): Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
--Felix
The Church News reported today a ministerial visit by Pres. Uchtdorf to meet with the President of Germany recently. Also to dedicate 2 new stake center meetinghouses for both the Salzburg Austria and Prague Czech Republic Stakes.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2026/06/04/president-dieter-uchtdorf-germany-ministry-president/
Kimberly, in the United Arab Emirates all the members are expatriates, from other counties, and not Emirati natives. There are members from all over the world in the five wards in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, three in English and two in Tagalog. I have given Book of Mormon to three Emirates over the last 15 years all in countries where it is permitted to do so; it is not permitted by law to do so in the UAE.
Sorry, one last comment about places with no ward or branch. I decided to try to categorize the ones I previously listed into those with no ward/branch at all, those with (or within) only an administrative branch or a dispersed member branch, and with no ward or branch of their own, but contained within a ward or branch in another country:
Admin or dispersed member units of their own: Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Falkland Islands
Contained within admin or dispersed member units for other/hq in other countries: Greenland, Faroe Islands, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tokelau. Maybe Maldives (the India South Branch is not designated as a dispersed member branch in its name but appears to be such).
Contained within boundaries of a regular ward or branch in another country: St Barts, Anguilla, Saint Martin, Gibraltar, Andorra, Monaco, Lichtenstein, San Marino, Vatican City, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Palestine (again, depending on your views regarding parts of Jerusalem). I left Guernsey off my previous list, but they now fall under Jersey's branch.
--Felix
None at all: Wallis and Futuna, Pitcarin Island, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Equatorial Guinea, Saint Helena, Comoros, Seychelles, BIOT, Bhutan, North Korea, Montserrat, Brunei, Bouvet Island, Iran
--Felix
The new Maputo Mozambique Magoanine Stake Created 5/31
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2325152
And as reported previously, the Lukalaba DRC District appears on the map, unknown date.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2330008
Matt, you are right. There are as of December, 2025, 88 branches in China. Branches are not being closed down. We continue to meet in houses and commercial spaces as we have the last 30 plus years in PR China.
David, the PR China is focused on symbols, such as churches, the most representative physical presence of religion, so they are being destroyed, and people are going back to meeting in houses, apartments, restaurants, etc., as the did in prior times of Communist Party of China rule up until approximately 1982. To be fair, the government is also destroying mosques. They haven't gone as far yet in destroying Buddhist, Confucius and Taoist temples as they did in the 1949-75 period, especially during the Cultural Revolution Period from 1963-73.
--Felix, in that last group, i might include Syria also, which administratively at least on the map is under the Middle East/Africa North Area.
Although, there was previously a Damascus Branch (360406), that was later renamed Amman Branch (360406), in the Beirut Lebanon District. And later consolidated.
And until recently, Syria may have been part of the Beirut Lebanon District Branch (2102447). But no longer visible on the Meetinghouse site. I don't personally have access to the CDOL to verify if it was closed or just made *sensitive* status.
The Zimpeto Mozambique Stake (2241226), has been renamed the Maputo Mozambique Zimpeto Stake (2241226) in the split.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2241226
***Matola Mozambique Stake renamed the Maputo Mozambique Matola Stake on 31 May 2026
***San Lorenzo Honduras District reorganized as the Gulf of Fonseca Honduras Stake on 31 May 2026
Sacsuha Guatemala District reorganized as the Polochic Guatemala Stake on 31 May 2026
Matt, Glad to hear that they didn't close
Washington Utah East Stake (13 wards) to be divided on Sunday.
New Stake: Washington Utah Long Valley Stake
This is an area with a lot of new homes-- one ward was split into 4 last year.
As much consolidation as we do see in some areas of Utah, others, with newer/cheaper homes are booming.
@Kimberly
Around 90% of the people living in the UAE are non-natives.
Does anyone know what an administrative branch means? If there is no one meeting, to my mind there is no presence in that country or territory; no members present. For example, I am going on a trip and had asked the church if there was a branch or group in Eritrea or Somalia that I could go to their meeting while in those countries and they said there was no branch in either country. This was three weeks ago.
Micro,
I'm not sure what you're referring as non-natives. More than 85% (at least before Iran Conflict) of UAE residents were expats and non citizens. Of the citizens (what I would image are the natives), virtually all are Muslims, and it is nearly impossible to gain citizenship. (AI generated results but matches what I noticed 20 years ago when I was in the middle east).
UAE's Freedom of religion is stronger than most other parts of the Middle East (but still far stringent than western nations). UAE allow members of other faiths to live, work, and practice their beliefs as long as it doesn't infringe on others. Proselyting in the UAE, especially to Muslims, is forbidden and can result in significant punishments including several years in prison.
Consequently, I can't see how even 1%, if any, of those attending LDS congregations can be native UAE or even middle-eastern.
While some are transient workers and visitors, many expats do stay for several years and reside with their families. I would imagine finding temple ordinance workers should not be much different than for US stakes. If local staffing isn't sufficient, senior couples from outside the UAE could serve there without much hassle as it has a relatively light visa policy. Many attendees would not be local as Dubai has the world's busiest airport by international traffic and the world's third most visited city. Outside of rumors, I'm not sure what the holdup on the temple has been as once well-covered media concerning the temple has been quiet since 2022.
David, you are right about the rules for religion in the UAE. I have attended the branch, now wards in Abu Dhabi and Dubai over the last twenty years. Most recently was three years ago in both locations. I have yet to meet an Emirati member of the church, in the UAE or outside of the UAE, I am sure it will happen some day. I should probably have used citizen, but a native Emirati is a citizen, they are almost synonymous. It is almost impossible to become an Emirati citizen. As indicated I have given copies of the Book of Mormon to Emirati nationals while on business travel in China, Turkey, and Brazil.
Matt, can you provide us with an up to date version of Steve’s list?
@Chris D., the Damascus branch still exists, though as you note, it is no longer visible.
--Felix
Administrative branches exist on paper, rather than as a group that meets together. They typically do not have a branch president assigned. In the past (and at present, to the best of my knowledge) the mission president of the mission boundaries within which the administrative branch fell had ecclesiastical responsibility for the members whose records were in the administrative branch, and was supposed to do things to ensure they remained connected to the church, such as providing subscriptions to the Liahona, contacting them from time to time to check on them, etc. The Djibouti administrative branch is a child unit of the Ethiopia Addis Ababa Mission (I assume the Eritrea and Somalia administrative branches are as well -- I can verify that for you if you plan to spend an extended period of time there, though if you are not moving there it is probably not relevant to you). Dispersed member units, in contrast, do have branch presidents assigned. I do not know as much about these but assume that they function similarly to an administrative unit. Speculatively, I imagine they are created when the number of dispersed members a mission president is responsible for grows large enough that it becomes infeasible for him to both oversee the mission and provide adequate ecclesiastical contact with the dispersed members, necessitating calling a branch president to take on that responsibility.
--Felix
Administrative branches exist to serve members who live in their boundaries. These may be an isolated individual or a lone family that might do home sacrament meeting. Or it might be a group that is not ready to be a branch. Or have multiple groups.
On the 6 most populated cities I would say Delhi does allow proselytizing. India does not like it and limits outside missionaries. However there is a stake in Delhi largely created by baptizing Indians in India.
My Kyrgyz friend called me from Tashkent. He has moved there permanently from Minneapolis in the last month. He confirms that there is no branch in Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan. He confirmed that other than his family he is the only Kyrgyz he knows that is a member of the church. He has even looked in Moscow and didn't find any.
But he has better news about Uzbekistan. There are 18 people, including five Uzbekistan citizens who are members of a group; most of the rest are expatriates working out of embassies or NGO. The minister of Religious Affairs went to the United States last year, even visiting the Church in Salt Lake City. For the first time in the next month or so the church will be officially registered in Uzbekistan. The are presently looking for a location in Tashkent to meet and have ordered signs in Russian and Uzbek to place on the location and a close by street post.
There will also be the first missionaries proselytizing in this Central Asian nation of 38 million people in the next few months. My friend is modest but he has been working with both the Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan governments for a number of years to secure legal recognition. Until now the only Central Asian country to have a LDS Church presence has been Kazakhstan beginning 25 years ago. There was an opening for the church to enter these post-Soviet countries in the 90s, when they were open to many new things, including new religious in these predominantly Muslim countries. This opening was closed down in these countries from 2000 to the present time, similar to what has occurred in Russia the last decade or more. So this is surprising and wonderful turn of events.
Tashkent is the largest city in Central Asia, of about 3 million people, which had to be completely rebuilt after a devastating earthquake that leveled the city in the 1960s. I met with 12 members, including on Uzbek citizen in a group while on business in 2013 when I was working for a Chinese company and resided in Shenzhen, PRC. The city is very modern, with only a few parts of the old city rebuilt, including an old souk.
My friend indicates it will be more difficult to legally register in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Felix, thank you. As I get my plans together, it looks like I will be going to Addis Ababa; so I will go to church there and meet the mission leadership. I plan to invite an NGO leader and two ministry people in the Ethiopian government. So I will gain more information on the ground about church groups meeting as I go through the Horn of Africa in behave of a Chinese company I use to work out of Shenzhen and on the Board of Directors of charitable foundation.
I asked someone who occasionally attends the Damascus branch a month ago if he still attends when he is in Damascus. He says he does---there are about 30 people in attendance when he went two weeks ago. He said there are also branches in Aleppo and Homs that have been formed since the end of the Bashir regime in December, 2024. Aleppo has 40-50 in attendance and Homs has 25 people in attendance. There is also a group of 10-12 people who just started meeting in Hama.
None are visible on meeting locator because of this sensitive time in Syria, but good news so far for freedom of religion in the new Syria.
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