Monday, April 25, 2016

Updated List of the Countries with the Most Members without a Stake

Below is an updated list of the countries with the most Latter-day Saints without a stake. Membership totals are as of 2015 and congregational and district totals are current. Membership for mainland China is an estimates as no official statistics are available. The number of branches and districts 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.

  1. China - 10,000 members?
  2. Malaysia - 9,725 members - 34 branches - 6 districts
  3. Liberia - 9,675 members - 24 branches - 3 districts
  4. Guyana - 5,648 members - 13 branches - 1 district
  5. Belize - 5,152 members - 11 branches - 2 districts
  6. Pakistan - 4,000 members - 13 branches - 3 districts
  7. Romania - 3,043 members - 16 branches - 2 districts
  8. Czech Republic - 2,503 members - 13 branches - 2 districts
  9. Bulgaria - 2,424 members - 9 branches - 0 districts
  10. Malawi - 2,143 members - 8 branches - 2 districts
  11. Angola - 1,908 members - 10 branches - 1 district
  12. Ethiopia - 1,903 members - 5 branches - 1 district
  13. Poland - 1,861 members - 13 branches - 3 districts
  14. Swaziland - 1,837 members - 6 branches - 1 district
  15. Cook Islands - 1,835 members - 5 branches - 1 district
  16. Suriname - 1,483 members - 6 branches - 1 district
  17. Cameroon - 1,480 members - 11 branches - 1 district
  18. Tanzania - 1,456 members - 6 branches - 1 district
  19. Macau - 1,410 members - 3 branches - 1 district
Prospects appear most favorable for the formation of stakes within the next few years in mainland China, Malaysia, Liberia, Guyana, Belize, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Swaziland, and Angola as all of these countries has at least one district that is close to reaching the minimum qualifications for a stake to operate.  Low member activity rates, an insufficient number of branches in individual member districts, slow or stagnant LDS growth, and few full-tithe paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders will likely continue to delay the organization of stakes in other countries for several more years to come. 
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8 comments:

  1. Mike JohnsonApril 25, 2016 at 5:55 PM

    I wonder if there would even be an announcement if a stake were created in China. I also wonder if a foreign or a native district reaches that point first, but we may never know.

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  2. EduardoApril 25, 2016 at 7:45 PM

    Hong Kong is politically a part of China and is a ferry ride from the mainland, as close perhaps as Staten Island to the rest of NY or NJ. Also, China has claims to Taiwan as a "renegade province" which also has multiple stakes.
    Malaysia and Brunei need more development. And now Vietnam.

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  3. Mike JohnsonApril 26, 2016 at 4:04 AM

    The boundary between the Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region and Guangdong province is a land border with border checks on the numerous crossings. The Hong Kong temple is on the mainland. No ferry is needed, as there are numerous bridges and the metro between between the island and the New Territories of Hong Kong.

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  4. EduardoApril 26, 2016 at 2:06 PM

    Yes, so I guess it's safe to say that China does have stakes. Not Communist China, if we wish to define it as that.

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  5. GracieApril 28, 2016 at 3:10 PM

    There will be many beautiful temples in mainland China someday; and in the meantime the situation seems ideal -- growth is the biggest problem in the church and China is free to grow quietly, without physical facilities or committing fulltime missionaries; but with quiet work of local people, which, given our limits, all seem like benefits, short- or long-term.
    Freedom of movement between regions in China is restricted. I think about the building of the temple in East Germany to avoid boarder crossings and wonder if something similar could happen there; if they could provide temples throughout China soon to reduce the need to travel to Hong Kong. I don't know though; does anyone know if Chinese members in mainland China are permitted to attend the temple in Hong Kong or do they need to be truly abroad? If they do attend in Hong Kong, do they keep that temple busy?

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  6. Cody ByersApril 28, 2016 at 10:13 PM

    I have some news for the chinese members. In the Yale (Mandarin) ward in the Irvine stake, we have been planing on starting a chinese member group or hopefully a branch, in the Mission Viejo area. The Yale ward has many members in the south orange county area, but recently there has been growth in Mission Viejo by an member that use to be our ward and left and has been doing great work by converting chinese families. It could take a while, because they would need to find leadership and find areas for the branch to proselytize in the mandarin language. There has also been rumors on starting a chinese branch in the Los Angeles area. Im so thankful for the church to be a worldwide church for everyone.

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  7. John Pack LambertApril 29, 2016 at 7:45 AM

    Either Malaysia has a lot more branches with few active members, or Liberia has a lot more inactive members than Malaysia. Liberia has suffered through civil wars that at times cut members off from the Church, and the stake that was formed there was discontinued due to various issues. Hopefully both countries will see a stake very soon. I wonder if the Church in China is stable enough to form a stake.

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  8. John Pack LambertApril 29, 2016 at 7:48 AM

    I had a roommate at BYU who served his mission in Hong Kong. He told us that they always had ridiculously high baptismal goals on the hope a bus full of people ready to be baptized would show up from the main part of China. I asked if that ever happened. He said it was never a bus full but they did have people come into Hong Kong with the goal of being baptized in the LDS Church.

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