Below is a list of the countries where the Church reported a net increase of four or more units for the year 2012. The annual percentage increase for the number of wards and branches is also provided:
- United States +114 (0.8% increase)
- Nigeria +35 (11.1% increase)
- Ghana +19 (14.7% increase)
- Philippines +16 (1.4% increase)
- Cote d'Ivoire +11 (26.2% increase)
- Zimbabwe +10 (20.0% increase)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo +9 (8.4% increase)
- Australia +5 (1.8% increase)
- Cape Verde +5 (27.8% increase)
- Haiti +5 (13.5% increase)
- Togo +5 (83.3% increase)
- India +4 (11.1% increase)
- Madagascar +4 (12.1% increase)
The net increase in the number of wards and branches in these 13 countries totals 242; a larger number than the net increase in the number of wards and branches for the entire Church for the year 2012. Five countries experienced a net decrease of four or more units during 2012 including:
- Mexico -15 (0.8% decrease)
- Russia -10 (9.2% decrease)
- South Korea -8 (5.9% decrease)
- Argentina -8 (1.0% decrease)
- Canada -5 (1.0% decrease)
Decreasing numbers of congregations in Mexico and Argentina are particularly concerning as the Church has experienced a net decrease in congregations in these two countries for several years now notwithstanding church membership increasing by tens of thousands.
For decades, we have been waiting that membership outside the U.S. exceeds membership in the U.S. - My guess for the next 20 to 30 years is that there will be more members in Africa than outside of Africa.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a breakdown by wards and branches? It could be, especially in Mexico and Argentina, that branches are being consolidated to create wards.
ReplyDeleteChurch just hasn't done well in Europe East. In Estonia we also combined a ward recently (2013). In a national census only 185 people identified themselves as Mormon, which represents about 18% of what is on church records. That said, I think Estonia is doing better than Russia and some of the other countries in Europe East.
ReplyDeleteThe Woodbridge 2nd Ward, Woodbridge Virginia Stake was created on 5 May. There are now 9 wards in the stake:
ReplyDeleteBristow Ward
Dale City Ward
Lake Ridge 1st Ward
Lake Ridge 2nd Ward
Potomac River Ward (Spanish)
Prince William Ward
Quantico Ward
Woodbridge 1st Ward
Woodbridge 2nd Ward
The Vineyard 7th Ward, Orem Utah Sunset Heights Stake was created on 5 May. There are now 14 wards and 1 branch in the stake:
Sunset Heights 2nd Ward
Sunset Heights 3rd Ward
Sunset Heights 4th Ward
Sunset Heights 5th Ward
Sunset Heights 6th Ward
Sunset Heights 7th Ward
Sunset Heights 8th Ward
Vineyard 1st Ward
Vineyard 2nd Ward
Vineyard 3rd Ward (Spanish)
Vineyard 4th Ward
Vineyard 5th Ward
Vineyard 6th Ward
Vineyard 7th Ward
Geneva Branch (Care Center)
Mexico grew by 6 wards and Argentina by 2 wards between 31 December 2011 and 31 December 2012
ReplyDeleteRussia is a huge country, with both a strong Russian Orthodox heritage and a 70-year period of official atheism.
ReplyDeleteThere are less than 200 members per congregation. It is still fragile, but it also reports more than 21,000 members, which in many ways is amazing.
By federal subject, in decreasing order of population, here are the number of congregations:
Federal city of Moscow (11,503,501): 7
Moscow Oblast (7,095,120): 4
Krasnodar Krai (5,226,647): 4
Federal city of Saint Petersburg (4,879,566): 7
Sverdlovsk Oblast (4,297,747): 4
Rostov Oblast (4,277,976): 8
Republic of Bashkortostan (4,072,292): 1
Republic of Tatarstan (3,786,488): 1
Chelyabinsk Oblast (3,476,217): 1
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (3,310,597): 2
Samara Oblast (3,215,532): 6
Republic of Dagestan (2,910,249): 0
Krasnoyarsk Krai (2,828,187): 1
Stavropol Krai (2,786,281): 1
Kemerovo Oblast (2,763,135): 1
Novosibirsk Oblast (2,665,911): 4
Perm Krai (2,635,276): 1
Volgograd Oblast (2,610,161): 4
Saratov Oblast (2,521,892): 7
Irkutsk Oblast (2,428,750): 1
Altai Krai (2,419,755): 1
Voronezh Oblast (2,335,380): 1
Orenburg Oblast (2,033,072): 1
Omsk Oblast (1,977,665): 2
Primorsky Krai (1,956,497): 3
Leningrad Oblast (1,716,868): 3
Tula Oblast (1,553,925): 1
Belgorod Oblast (1,532,526): 0
Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug (1,532,243): 0
Udmurt Republic (1,521,420): 1
Vladimir Oblast (1,443,693): 0
Penza Oblast (1,386,186): 1
Tver Oblast (1,353,392): 1
Khabarovsk Krai (1,343,869): 2
Kirov Oblast (1,341,312): 0
Tyumen Oblast (1,340,608): 1
Ulyanovsk Oblast (1,292,799): 1
Bryansk Oblast (1,278,217): 0
Yaroslavl Oblast (1,272,468): 1
Chechen Republic (1,268,989): 0
Chuvash Republic (1,251,619): 0
Vologda Oblast (1,202,444): 0
Arkhangelsk Oblast (1,185,536): 0
Lipetsk Oblast (1,173,513): 1
Ryazan Oblast (1,154,114): 1
Kursk Oblast (1,127,081): 0
Zabaykalsky Krai (1,107,107): 0
Tambov Oblast (1,091,994): 0
Ivanovo Oblast (1,061,651): 0
Tomsk Oblast (1,047,394): 1
Kaluga Oblast (1,010,930): 1
Astrakhan Oblast (1,010,073): 0
Smolensk Oblast (985,537): 1
Republic of Buryatia (972,021): 1
Sakha Republic (958,528): 0
Kaliningrad Oblast (941,873): 1
Kurgan Oblast (910,807): 1
Komi Republic (901,189): 0
Kabardino-Balkar Republic (859,939): 0
Republic of Mordovia (834,755): 0
Amur Oblast (830,103): 0
Murmansk Oblast (795,409): 0
Oryol Oblast (786,935): 0
Republic of North Ossetia–Alania (712,980): 0
Mari El Republic (696,459): 0
Pskov Oblast (673,423): 1
Kostroma Oblast (667,562): 0
Republic of Karelia (643,548): 1
Novgorod Oblast (634,111): 1
Republic of Khakassia (532,403): 0
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (522,904): 0
Sakhalin Oblast (497,973): 1
Karachay–Cherkess Republic (478,859): 0
Republic of Adygea (439,996): 0
Republic of Ingushetia (412,529): 0
Kamchatka Krai (322,079): 0
Tuva Republic (307,930): 0
Republic of Kalmykia (289,481): 0
Altai Republic (206,168): 0
Jewish Autonomous Oblast (176,558): 0
Magadan Oblast (156,996): 0
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (50,526): 0
Nenets Autonomous Okrug (42,090): 0
Thanks Mike for your updates.
ReplyDeleteWe have been talking about the discontinuing of four Russian districts. One thing that stands out in the number of congregations in each Russian federal subject, is that the Rostov, Samara, and Saratov oblasts (which is translated regions or provinces) have significantly more congregations than other federal subjects of similar size.
ReplyDeleteWell, so far this year two new stakes have been formed in Mexico. I am hoping the surge of missionaries can be translated into increased retention of converts in Mexico. It is encoraging that the vast majority of mission presidents in Mexico are Mexicans.
ReplyDeleteWe have moved a long way past the days of the 3rd convention when a group of members in Mexico meet to petition for a Mexican mission president and were excommunicated en masse for going against the way the Church should run. That was in the mid-1930s, and in the late-1940s President George Albert Smith became the first president of the Church to travel to Mexico and worked out a reconcilaation and the reutn of most of the 3rd convetionists into the Church.
The Mexico Area President is a citizen of Mexico, but would not have met the 3rd convetionists view of being Mexican, but his two counselors would be fully accepted as Mexicans by the 3rd conventionists.
My favorites though are area seventies Emer Villalobos and Maroni Gaona, who served in a Mexicn City stake stake presidency less than a decade ago together, and I suspect that Sister Villalobos is Elder Gaona's sister, although maybe she just happenes to have the same last name.
Right now I think the way forward for the Church in Russia is local leadership. There have been nationalists attacks on the LDS Church in Russia as an American instutition.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I wonder if one reason to discontinue the districts is to make sure that all branch presidencies can be fully staffed with Russian leadership instead of foriegn missionaries. I hadn't thought of that before, but what with the nationalist rhetoric against the Mormons, making sure that Russians lead the branches is very important.