Country-by-Country Membership Statistics Released for 2025

The Church has released year-end 2025 membership and congregation totals for most nations with a reported Church presence. These statistics can be accessed on Church's official United Kingdom website at https://news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics.

Countries with the highest annual membership growth rates for 2025 are listed below. Lists for nations with the most rapid annual membership growth rates are also available for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. A list of the biennial membership growth rates for countries between year-end 2019 to year-end 2021 can be found here. The percentage next to the country name for the list below is the annual membership growth rate for 2025. The number at the end of the each line is year-end membership for 2025. Countries in bold experienced an annual membership increase of greater than 200.

1. Solomon Islands - 98.7% - 3,232
2. Montenegro - 91.2% - 65
3. Georgia - 59.1% - 498 
4. Rwanda - 45.6% - 3,625
5. Israel - 36.1% - 422
6. Palau - 35.9% - 572
7. Malawi - 32.3% - 7,857
8. Central African Republic - 27.1% - 357
9. Tanzania - 24.6% - 6,259
10. Mozambique - 24.2% - 39,282
11. Sint Maarten - 23.9% - 358
12. Niue - 23.8% - 400
13. Malta - 21.7% - 320
14. Sierra Leone - 20.7% - 41,775
15. Lesotho - 20.5% - 2,278
16. Angola - 19.9% - 8,779
17. St. Kitts and Nevis - 19.7% - 292
18. DR Congo - 19.2% - 159,771
19. Madagascar - 17.7% - 20,395
20. Benin - 17.2% - 8,286
21. Ireland - 16.9% - 4,923
22. Kenya - 15.8% - 24,547
23. Turkey - 15.8% - 808
24. Reunion - 15.1% - 989
25. Namibia - 15.0% - 1,492
26. Puerto Rico - 14.9% - 26,947
27. Burundi - 14.6% - 2,070
28. Jamaica - 14.3% - 7,856
29. Zimbabwe - 13.8% - 52,430
30. Republic of the Congo - 13.1% - 15,482
31. Botswana - 12.9% - 5,465
32. Papua New Guinea - 12.9% - 46,583
33. Serbia - 12.8% - 422
34. Croatia - 12.7% - 739
35. Nauru - 11.5% - 146
36. United States Virgin Islands - 11.2% - 704
37. Liberia - 11.0% - 25,767
38. Eswatini (Swaziland) - 10.7% - 2,598
39. Zambia - 10.6% - 7,823
40. United Arab Emirates - 10.6% - 2,002
41. Cyprus - 10.6% - 701
42. Cameroon - 10.4% - 3,673
43. Macau - 10.4% - 1,595
44. Iceland - 10.2% - 445 

The following is a list of the 12 countries/territories where there was a decline in Church membership for 2025. The percent growth rate is provided next to the country name, and the number to the right of the percentage growth rate is the year-end 2025 membership total for the country. Eight of these countries had at least 1,000 members: Albania, Armenia, Barbados, the Cook Islands, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.

1. Bahrain - -16.3% - 231
2. Barbados - -10.2% - 1,082 
3. Isle of Man - -3.06% - 285
4. Guernsey - -1.64 - 60
5. Armenia - -1.27% - 3,579
6. Cook Islands - -1.15% - 1,890
7. Trinidad and Tobago - -1.12% - 3,458
8. Netherlands - -0.99% - 9,027
9. Albania - -0.96% - 3,285
10. Indonesia - -0.61% - 7,655
11. Jersey - -0.37% - 269
12. United States - 0.00% - 6,929,770

Below is a list of the top 10 countries by numerical membership net increase for 2025. Each country is provided with the numerical national increase in membership for the year. Additionally, the percentage of total church membership increase that is accounted for by each country is provided (i.e., a percentage of the world membership increase for 2025 that is within that country). Lists are also available for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. A list for the biennial period of 2020-2021 is also available. 59.1% of the 2025 net increase in Church membership can be attributed to the following 10 nations. 

1. Brazil - 47,924 - 12.7%
2. Mexico - 38,229 - 10.1%
3. DR Congo - 25,704 - 6.8%
4. Nigeria - 23,702 - 6.3%
5. Philippines - 22,621 - 6.0%
6. Peru - 19,791 - 5.2%
7. Argentina - 14,659 - 3.9%
8. Chile - 11,149 - 3.0%
9. Ecuador - 9,846 - 2.6%
10. Ghana - 9,508 - 2.5%

Below is a list of the top four countries by numerical membership decrease for 2025. Each country is provided with the numerical national decrease in membership during the year 2025. There were only two countries that experienced a net decrease by 100 or more during 2025. 

1. United States - -186
2. Barbados - -123

Membership growth numbers for 2025 are the most historic ever reported by the Church for the following reasons.

First, the Church has never had so many countries with annual membership growth rates of at least 10%. There were at least 44 countries/territories where Church membership increased by 10% or more in 2025. In contrast, most years in the past 20 years have had only 10-20 countries that achieve this level of growth. The previous record appeared to be set in 2014 when there were 27 countries with 10% membership growth or higher for the year. This represents a dramatic departure from historical norms, as the number of countries achieving double-digit growth has more than doubled compared to typical annual levels over the past two decades. Importantly, this expansion is occurring simultaneously across both small and large membership bases, indicating that growth is not limited to emerging areas but is increasingly sustained in maturing ones

Second, the Church is no longer reporting membership figures in its official membership for "sensitive countries" where there is no published Church membership figures (i.e., Pakistan, Cuba, mainland China, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam to name a few). The difference between all of the countries with reported membership and the worldwide totals for 2025 was 974. In contrast, this number was 28,216 for 2024. The Church has previously not reported membership figures for some countries in world totals, such as Russia. This dramatic reduction strongly suggests a change in reporting methodology or classification of previously unreported membership, although the Church has not publicly clarified the reason.

Third, the Church in the United States posted its first ever year of negative membership growth notwithstanding reports of a 17% annual increase in convert baptisms for the year. There was a net decline of 186 members for 2025, resulting in essentially 0.00% growth for the year. The previous all-time low for membership growth in the United States in modern times was set during the COVID-19 pandemic when there was only a net increase of 41,987 (0.62 over the two-year period from year-end 2019 to year-end 2021). Decreasing birth rates among active Latter-day Saints, removal of unbaptized children of record after age 8, and name removals due to death, loss of membership, or resignation appear to have driven this drop in membership. It is also possible that efforts to update the accuracy of membership records may account for this decrease. For example, the unusually large increase of nearly 3,500 members in Puerto Rico is most plausibly explained by membership record transfers from the United States, as Puerto Rico has historically experienced minimal growth. These data suggest that factors such as retention, inactivity, and membership record maintenance may now exert a greater influence on net membership totals in the United States than the number of convert baptisms or children of record added each year.

Fourth, there are many countries that have a relatively large membership base that are posting extremely high levels of membership growth. Several countries with already substantial membership bases are now experiencing unusually rapid growth, indicating acceleration rather than simple expansion. The Church in the DR Congo reported an annual growth rate of 19.2% even though there are over 100,000 Latter-day Saints in the country. Membership growth actually accelerated in the DR Congo in 2025 compared to 2024 (16.6%). Membership in the Solomon Islands essentially doubled in 2025 from 1,627 to 3,232. Nearly one-fifth of membership in Mozambique at the end of 2025 had been baptized within the previous 12 months notwithstanding there being nearly 40,000 members. Papua New Guinea reported a 12.9% annual membership growth rate in 2025 which was the highest reported since the late 1990s even though there were 41,268 members at the beginning of the year. Whereas most years have only one to three countries with such rapid growth, 2025 stands out for having multiple examples across several world regions.

Fifth, there has never been such a wide geographical diversification of high rates of membership growth. All world regions had at least one country where membership increased by five percent in 2025. High growth is no longer regionally concentrated but is now distributed across all global regions, indicating increasingly globalized growth dynamics

Sixth, the Church has achieved moderate to high rates of membership growth in nations where stagnant or slow growth has occurred for years, if not decades, such as the Republic of Georgia, Jamaica, Croatia, the United States Virgin Islands, Macau, Lithuania, Belgium, Germany, and Mongolia. 

Taken together, these trends suggest a continued shift in the global center of Church growth toward Africa, Latin America, and select parts of the Pacific, while growth in historically established regions—particularly the United States and parts of Europe—remains uneven, with some countries experiencing renewed momentum alongside others that continue to show modest or stagnant growth. Membership growth in 2025 appears to have accelerated trends observed in 2024, which also stood out as a significant year. The greatest test to determine whether the Church has truly entered a new age of growth and development will be whether these elevated growth rates are sustained and whether they are accompanied by commensurate increases in metrics that more closely reflect active participation, such as the number of congregations and stakes.

2025 Membership and Congregational Data Released by Region

The Church has published regional figures for membership and the total number of congregations by world region for 2025. The tables below summarize these data. Table 1 presents membership and congregation totals for 2024 and 2025 by world region. Table 2 provides percentage growth rates for membership and congregations in 2025, as well as the average number of members per congregation and the change in this metric from 2024 to 2025.

 Table 1

Region	2024 Mem	2025 Mem	2024 Cong	2025 Cong
North America	9,733,719	9,807,340	18,426	18,501
South America	4,392,463	4,517,233	5,599	5,547
Europe	513,534	528,704	1,290	1,280
Asia	1,316,373	1,343,071	2,145	2,192
Oceania	607,302	629,697	1,290	1,306
Africa	933,511	1,046,270	2,927	3,220

 

Table 2

Region	Mem %	Cong %	M/C 2024	M/C 2025	Change
North America	+0.76%	+0.41%	528	530	+2
South America	+2.84%	-0.93%	785	814	+29
Europe	+2.95%	-0.78%	398	413	+15
Asia	+2.03%	+2.19%	614	613	-1
Oceania	+3.69%	+1.24%	471	482	+11
Africa	+12.08%	+10.01%	319	325	+6

The Church has not yet published country-by-country data for 2025. However, data for individual U.S. states and the District of Columbia have been updated and are available through the state and district profiles on this page. The Church recently transitioned its facts and statistics page from the Newsroom website to ChurchofJesusChrist.org, and some data have not yet been fully integrated into the new platform. I will provide analysis of these numbers once the country-specific data are released. 

2025 Statisical Report - Analysis

This morning, the Church reported its annual statistical report as of December 31st, 2025.

• Membership: 17,887,212 (increase of 377,431 from 2024; a 2.16% annual increase)
• Congregations: 32,046 (increase of 370 from 2024; a 1.17% annual increase)
• Stakes: 3,695 (increase of 87 from 2024; a 2.41% annual increase)
• Districts: 488 (decrease of 6 from 2024; a 1.2% annual decrease)
• Missions: 451 (increase of 1 from 2024; a 0.22% annual increase)
• Convert Baptisms: 385,490 (increase of 76,808 from 2024; a 24.9% annual increase)
• Increase of Children on Record: 91,835 (increase of 218 from 2024; a 0.24% annual increase)
• Full-time Teaching Missionaries: 78,596 (increase of 4,469 from 2024; a 6.03% annual increase)
• Senior Service Missionaries: 31,613 (increase of 493 from 2024; an 1.58% annual increase)
  
• Young Service Missionaries: 4,518 (increase of 326 from 2024; a 7.78% annual increase)

Analysis of the 2025 Statistical Report - Key Takeaways

New All-Time Record for Convert Baptisms

The number of new converts baptized in 2025 stands as the most positive development in the statistical report. The Church baptized the most new converts ever in a single year, continuing a trend of increasing numbers of new converts baptized that began in 2024 when there were 308,682 converts baptized (which was an increase of nearly 57,000 from 2023). Church leaders have shared that the increase in convert baptisms has occurred in all major world regions, although North America had the lowest increase in new converts baptized in 2025 (reported as 17% in October 2025 by Elder Quentin L. Cook versus 20% for other world regions). For the year as a whole, there were 24.9% more converts baptized than in 2024. The previous all-time record for new converts baptized in a single year was set in 1990 (330,877), although this was at a time when prebaptismal standards were less strict than today, making the current numbers more impressive. Convert baptisms have increased at a rate much faster than the total number of full-time proselytizing teaching missionaries serving (24.9% versus 6.03% in 2025). There were 4.9 converts baptized per missionary in 2025 - the highest since 2011 when it was 5.1. This trend has improved in recent years from 3.4 in 2022 to 3.71 in 2023 and 4.2 in 2024, suggesting improved efficiency with proselytizing missionaries attracting more converts into the Church. Nevertheless, the average number of converts baptized per missionary is well below the 1970s-1990s when it ranged from 6-8 converts baptized per missionary a year.

Historically waning receptivity to the Latter-day Saint Gospel message during the past several decades has seemed to take an unexpected turn. The recent surge in convert baptisms appears to be driven more by increased receptivity than by major changes in proselytizing methods or teaching approaches. However, it is important to note that the Church has made unprecedented progress within the past 1-2 years with creating its first branches in cities where no official congregation has ever operated, although this development has been primarily concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, a portion of recent membership growth is likely attributable to outreach expansion efforts. However, region- and country-specific membership data have not yet been published, and it is usually posted on the Church's website the week after General Conference.

Sustaining this level of convert growth will depend heavily on improvements in convert retention, as historically many rapidly growing areas have struggled to translate baptisms into long-term activity and leadership development.

Largest Number Net Increase in New Stakes Since 2016

The Church reported a net increase of 87 stakes during 2025, as there were 94 new stakes organized and 7 stakes discontinued. This means that there were roughly 13 new stakes organized for every stake discontinued. Recent years have had many more stakes discontinued and far fewer stakes organized, including 2024 (59 stakes created, 15 stakes discontinued) and 2023 (60 new stakes created, 16 stakes discontinued). Approximately 60% of the new stakes created in 2025 were outside of the United States. The Church increased its standards for stakes to be organized outside the United States in regard to the number of active members and qualified priesthood holders to serve in leadership positions (30 more active, full-tithe paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders than what it was previously), suggesting that stakes organized since early 2024 may, on average, be more structurally robust than those organized in previous decades. Finally, the number of stakes in the Church increased by 2.41% - a rate slightly higher than membership growth and highly encouraging for leadership development and perhaps activity rates as well.

New Record Set for Number of Full-time Teaching Missionaries Serving (Excluding the "Double Cohort" Years)

The number of full-time teaching missionaries serving (78,596) increased by nearly 4,500 in 2025 (6.03%) to reach a new record (when excluding the double cohort years when the minimum age for missionary service was decreased by one year for men and two years for women in October 2012). The rate of increase for young single adults serving full-time proselytizing missions remains several times higher than annual membership growth and suggests an increasing percentage of eligible members choosing to serve missions. It is important to note that many youth and young single adult converts serve missions and have contributed to the momentum in the growing worldwide missionary force. Although these numbers continue to be encouraging, the rate of growth in the number of full-time teaching missionaries is slowing, as the Church reported a year over year increase of 8.52% in 2023 and 9.22% in 2024.

Highest Annual Growth Rate for Total Church Membership Since 2012

Total Church membership increased by 2.16% in 2025 continuing a trend of accelerating membership growth since a low of 0.60% in 2020. This increase was driven not only by record convert baptisms but also by a substantial reduction in membership record removals (approximately 46,000 fewer than in 2024), which significantly amplified net growth. The summation of convert baptisms and children of record was 477,325 in 2025 - the highest ever reported by the Church, breaking the previous record set in 2014 at 413,212. However, the actual net increase in membership in 2025 was 377,431 due to a net removal of 99,894 membership records (it is important to note that this is an estimate, as it does not account for re-baptized members who had their records removed). The net increase in membership in 2025 was the highest reported since 1999 when there was a net increase of 398,745 members. 

Largest Net Increase in Congregations Operating Since 2019; Congregational Growth Continues to Lag Behind Membership Growth

The Church reported a net increase of 370 wards and branches in 2025 - the highest since 2019 when there was a net increase of 404 wards and branches. The number of wards and branches in the Church increased by 1.17% in 2025 which is approximately half of the rate at which membership grew for the year. Congregational growth has long lagged behind membership growth due to compounding retention challenges and persistently low activity rates. The average ward or branch in the Church in 2025 had 558 members, yet most wards have approximately 100-200 active members and the number of active members per branch widely varies. See below for a line graph displaying the average number of members per congregation which indicates steady increases for a quarter of a century. The steady increase in the average number of members per congregation—particularly over the past 25 years—suggests that unit creation has not kept pace with membership growth, and this appears primarily attributed to low activity rates.

Children of Record Increase Remains Low

There was an increase of 91,835 children of record (usually newborns with one or both parents who are members of the Church) added in 2025, which was nearly the same as what was reported in 2024 (91,617). Given a membership of nearly 18 million, this remains a strikingly low figure that reflects declining birth rates, difficulties with young adults marrying (and staying married to have children that they raise in the Church), and problems with creating full-member families in the international Church. The Church regularly reported 100,000-120,000 children of record increase from the years 2008-2018 and has since reported children of record increase ranging from 65,440 in 2020 to 94,266 in 2019. This stands in even starker contrast to the early 1980s when there was only 4-5 million members on Church records yet there were 100,000-124,000 children added to the records annually. If the rate at which children of record were added in the early 1980s were the same today, we would expect approximately 400,000 children added to the records each year. 

2025 Statisical Report

This afternoon, the 2025 Statistical Report was published. I will create a post analyzing the report later today.

New Temple Predictions - March 2026 Edition

It has been 6 months since I most recently updated my temple prediction map. In a recent media interview, President Dallin H. Oaks indicated that many future temple announcements may occur at the regional or local level rather than during General Conference. However, it is likely that some announcements will continue in General Conference—particularly in areas with large Church membership (e.g., the western United States) or where regional announcements may be less practical (e.g., Sub-Saharan Africa). Moreover, there is an enormous number of planned temples that have yet to begin construction, including 50 with no site announcement and 55 with a site announced but no groundbreaking set.

Several variables are used to identify prospective sites for future temple announcements. These include: the size of the Church in a given area (stakes, districts, wards, and branches), the age of the oldest stake, growth trends, distance to the nearest temple, traffic and transportation considerations, temple square footage, the historical number of weekly endowment sessions, and member/missionary reports on activity, temple attendance, and convert retention. Altogether, there are 190 potential temples on the map (which is 4 potential temple sites more than the total number of potential sites identified in September 2025). Despite a growing backlog of announced temples, global expansion—particularly in Africa—continues to create strong candidates for future temple announcements. The following five locations have been added to the temples prediction map with this current update—all of which are in Africa and less likely temples:

• Gboko, Nigeria 
• Mont Ngafula, Kinshasa, DR Congo
• Lusaka, Zambia
• Matadi DR Congo 
• Nampula, Mozambique 

Also, there were five locations that were moved from the less likely to be announced list to the more likely to be announced list. The following locations were moved from the “less likely” to the “more likely” category based on the following factors: 

• Blackfoot, Idaho (steady growth in new stakes and wards in the Blackfoot and Shelley areas)
• Cotonou, Benin (third stake in the metropolitan area was just organized; rapid growth and remote location)
• Eldoret, Kenya (proliferation of branches and districts; first stakes in western Kenya highly likely to be organized in the next 1-2 years; remote location)
• Hurricane, Utah (steady growth in the number of stakes and wards)
• Luputa, DR Congo (rapid growth; two new stakes recently organized [one in Luputa, one in Ngandajika]; remote location)

See below for my top 20 most likely locations for a temple announcement within the next 6 months. It is unclear whether we may have many new temples announced in the coming months considering the significant backlog in temples in the earliest planning stages. Your predictions are appreciated and welcome in the comments.

1. Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines 
2. Bo, Sierra Leone
3. Port Harcourt, Nigeria
4. Rigby, Idaho
5. Lomé, Togo 
6. Southeast Salt Lake City, Utah (i.e., Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, or Sandy)
7. Evanston, Wyoming
8. San Pablo City, Philippines
9. Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
10. Ibadan, Nigeria
11. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 
12. Lilongwe, Malawi
13. Santa Maria, Brazil
14. Kimbanseke, Kinshasa, DR Congo
15. Tema, Ghana
16. Yopougon, Côte d’Ivoire
17. San Luis Valley, Colorado
18. Longview, Texas
19. Lahore, Pakistan
20. Luputa, DR Congo 

 

Reports of 380,000-390,000 Convert Baptisms in 2025

I have received a credible report that the Church appeared to baptize 380,000-390,000 convert baptisms in 2025. If accurate, this would surpass the previous all-time high of 330,877 converts baptized in 1990 by approximately 50,000-60,000 people. Additionally, the combined total of convert baptisms and children of record added to Church membership appears to have reached around half a million in 2025, which would represent another all-time high. With approximately 90,000-140,000 records removed annually, the net increase in membership is likely closer to 400,000 given these unofficial reports. 

Official statistics will be released in General Conference next month. 

Milestone of 3,700 Stakes Worldwide Reached; New Stakes Created in the DR Congo (2), Utah (2), Arizona, Ecuador, Idaho, Nigeria, Virginia, and Zimbabwe; New Districts Created in Cuba, the DR Congo, and Tanzania; Five Stakes Discontinued in Utah

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reached the milestone of 3,700 stakes for the first time in its history. This threshold was achieved following sustained net stake growth in recent years. In 2025, 94 new stakes were organized and only seven were discontinued, resulting in a net increase of 87 stakes (a 2.4% annual increase). Thus far in 2026, at least nine new stakes have been organized, although five stakes have been discontinued. See the table below for the net increase in the number of stakes per year since 2005.

 

Year	Net New Stakes
2005	36
2006	44
2007	45
2008	28
2009	47
2010	31
2011	50
2012	59
2013	45
2014	64
2015	60
2016	92
2017	75
2018	42
2019	54
2020	26
2021	35
2022	23
2023	44
2024	43
2025	87

Stake growth remains one of the most important structural indicators of global Latter-day Saint growth, as the creation of new stakes is typically associated with increases in active membership, leadership development, and long-term institutional stability.Conversely, the discontinuation of stakes typically signals challenges such as declining activity rates, limited leadership depth, and insufficient convert retention or local membership growth to sustain stake-level operations. See below for a graph displaying the total number of stakes per year since 2005.

 

Below are country-by-country updates since my last post on stakes and districts that have been created or discontinued.

DR Congo 

Two new stakes and one new district were created in the DR Congo.

The Diulu DR Congo Stake was organized on December 28th, 2025, from a division of the Mbuji-Mayi DR Congo Stake (organized in 2016) and the Dibindi DR Congo Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Bipemba 2nd, Dibindi 2nd, Diulu 1st, Diulu 2nd, Masanka, and Tshikila Wards and the Mpokolo Branch. The new stake is the Church's third stake in the city following the Mbuji-Mayi DR Congo Stake (organized in 2016) and the Dibindi DR Congo Stake (organized in 2022). One interesting note with the creation of this new stake was that it was created between Christmas and New Year's Day — an extremely rare occurrence in modern Church administration and likely a testament to the rapid growth of the Church in the country that necessitated an often inconvenient time of year to create the new stake.

The Ngandajika DR Congo Kabanda Stake was organized on January 11th from a division of the Ngandajika DR Congo Stake (organized in 2023). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Kabanda 1st, Kabanda 2nd, Kabidimba, Lunga, and Ngandajika Wards. There are now two stakes in Ngandajika.

The Mbandaka DR Congo District was organized on February 8th from three mission branches in the city of Mbandaka. The first branch in Mbandaka was organized in 2024. The new district is the Church's 10th new district to be created in the DR Congo since May of 2025.

There are now 46 stakes and 11 districts in the DR Congo. To illustrate the rapid growth of the Church in the country, there were only four stakes and three districts in 2005 and 13 stakes and four districts in 2015.

Utah

Two new stakes were created and five stakes were discontinued in Utah.

The Hurricane Utah Sky Mountain Stake was organized on January 11th from a division of the Hurricane Utah West Stake (organized in 1996). The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Sky Mountain 1st, Sky Mountain 2nd, Sky Mountain 3rd, Sky Mountain 4th, Sky Mountain 5th, Sky Mountain 6th, and Sky Mountain 7th Wards. There are now five stakes in Hurricane.

The Lehi Utah Willow Creek Stake was organized on March 1st from the Lehi Utah Willow Park Stake (organized in 2008). The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Colony Pointe, Green Park, Lehi 44th (Deaf), Meadow Vista, North Pointe (Portuguese), Pioneer Heights, and Willow Creek Wards. There are now 26 stakes in Lehi.

Five stakes were also discontinued in Utah. These stakes include the Murray Utah Little Cottonwood Stake (organized in 1971), the Murray Utah Parkway Stake (organized in 1992), the Salt Lake Granite Park Stake (organized in 1983), the South Salt Lake Stake (organized in 1941), and the Taylorsville Utah North Central Stake (organized in 1984). All five of these stakes are within approximately 7-8 miles of one another in the South Salt Lake, Murray, and Taylorsville areas where the Church has experienced steady decline for decades in active membership and congregation consolidations. Gentrification of urban neighborhoods, the exodus of young families to Utah County and beyond, and non-Latter-day Saints repopulating these historically strong Latter-day Saint strongholds appear to be the primary drivers of this decline. Based on current demographic and activity trends, an additional 1-2 dozen stakes in the greater Salt Lake City area may be discontinued over the next five years. While the number of stakes and congregations in the Salt Lake City area continues to slightly decline, state totals generally have been stable or have slightly increased in recent years.

There are now 643 stakes and seven districts in Utah. 

Arizona

A new stake was created in Arizona on March 1st. The Queen Creek Arizona Frontier Stake was organized from the Queen Creek Arizona North Stake (organized in 2008). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Barney Farms, Crismon, Gateway Quarter, Langley Gateway, and Terravella Wards. There are now 10 stakes in Queen Creek.

There are now 121 stakes and three districts in Arizona. 

Ecuador

A new stake was created in Ecuador on February 22nd. The Ibarra Ecuador Stake was organized from the Otavalo Ecuador Imbabura Stake (organized in 1997). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Ibarra Central, Iluman, Pucara, San Miguel, and San Roque Wards. Two wards and one branch were discontinued in the three previously operating stakes in Otavalo, resulting in each of the four stakes in the area now having five wards a piece. Otavalo appears to be a likely candidate for its own temple due to relatively high levels of member activity and leadership development for Latin America.

There are now 45 stakes and five districts in Ecuador.

Idaho

A new stake was created in Idaho on February 8th. The Shelley Idaho East Stake was organized from the Shelley Idaho Stake (organized in 1914) and the Shelley Idaho South Stake (organized in 1980). The new stake includes the following eight wards: the Shelley 2nd, Shelley 9th, Shelley 13th, Shelley 14th, Taylor 1st, Taylor 2nd, Taylor 3rd, and Taylor 4th Wards. There are now three stakes in Shelley.

There are now 148 stakes in Idaho. 

Nigeria 

A new stake was created in Nigeria on February 8th. The Ikot Use Ekong Nigeria Stake was organized on February 8th from the Eket Nigeria Stake (organized in 1996). The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Edo, Idung Offiong 1st, Idung Offiong 2nd, Ikot Use Ekong, and Uquo Wards and the Akai Branch. 

There are now 81 stakes and 13 districts in Nigeria. 

Virginia

A new stake was created in Virginia on February 1st. Bella Vista Virginia Stake (Spanish) was organized from various stakes in northern Virginia. The new stake includes the following eight wards and one branch: the Bella Vista (Spanish), Little River (Spanish), Loudoun (Spanish), Occoquan River (Spanish), Old Town (Spanish), Potomac River (Spanish), Spring Lake (Spanish), and Sudley (Spanish) Wards and the Cub Run (Spanish) Branch. This marks the first Spanish-speaking stake to ever operate in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The Church in the United States appears to have reconsidered a previous policy reversal that disfavored the organization of Spanish-speaking stakes, which went into effect approximately 10–15 years ago, although all new Spanish-speaking stakes created in the past few years have been in Utah.

There are now 26 stakes in Virginia. 

Zimbabwe

A new stake was created on February 1st. The Bulawayo Zimbabwe Luveve Stake was organized on February 1st from a division of the Bulawayo Zimbabwe Stake (organized in 2005) and the Nkulumane Zimbabwe Stake (organized in 2013). The new stake includes the following five wards and three branches: the Cowdray Park 1st, Emakhandeni, Gwabalanda, Mpopoma, and Njube Wards, and the Cowdray Park 2nd, Cowdray Park 3rd, and Luveve Branches. There are now four stakes in Bulawayo that were organized in 2005, 2013, 2024, and 2026. Bulawayo appears highly likely to receive a temple announcement in the foreseeable future due to rapid growth and distance from the newly dedicated temple in Harare.

There are now 13 stakes and two districts in Zimbabwe. 

Cuba

A new district was created in Cuba in January. The Holguín Cuba District was organized from a division of the Havana Cuba District (organized in 2017). The new district includes the following five branches: the Buenaventura, Cabezo, Guaramanao, Holguín 1st, and Holguín 2nd Branches. The first branch in Holguín was created in 2021 and rapid growth has subsequently followed. There are now two branches in Holguín proper and three branches in surrounding small towns and villages. There have been no recent official Church membership figures published for Cuba, but there are likely more than 1,000 Latter-day Saints in this country of approximately 11 million people.

Tanzania 

A new district was created in Tanzania on February 15th. The Dar es Salaam Tanzania Kigamboni District was organized from a division of the Dar es Salaam Tanzania Chang'ombe District (organized in 2022). Five new branches were organized in the district from 2024 until it divided. The new district includes the following three branches: the Chamazi, Kigamboni, and Mbagala Branches. 

There is now one stake and four districts in Tanzania. The first stake in Tanzania was organized in January of 2025.

Significant Growth in the Africa South Area

Recent statistics indicate that rapid growth is currently occurring in the Africa South Area. A recent video posted on YouTube by the Africa South Area Presidency disclosed a wide range of internal growth metrics that are not typically shared publicly, making the scope and level of transparency in this data release highly unusual for the Church. As with all internally reported Church data, these figures reflect operational metrics shared by area leadership and are not independently audited. The following statistics were shared as percentage increases from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025:

• Sacrament Meeting Attendance: +21% 
• BYU-Pathway Enrollment: +41% 
• Ministering Interviews: +21% 
• Lessons with a Member Present: +24% 
• Convert Baptisms: +13% 
• New Converts Attending Sacrament (Year-to-Date): +26% 
• Seminary and Institute Enrollment: +32% 
• Missionaries Serving from the Africa South Area: +45% 
• Members Holding a Current Temple Recommend: +17% 
• Members Submitting Names for Temple Work: +22%

These are impressive numbers considering the Church reported approximately 202,000 members in the Africa South Area as of year-end 2024. Additional statistics were also shared in the video, including:

• More than 20,000 converts baptized during 2025 (as of mid-November 2025)
• Increasing numbers of applications received for full-time missionary service. Total number of applications received by year were reported as follows:
• 2023: 940
• 2024: 1,441
• 2025: 1,277 (as of mid-November)

The video also noted that 12 new stakes are currently in application or submission process, including:

• Antananarivo Madagascar (4th stake)
• Luveve Zimbabwe Stake
• Harare Zimbabwe (7th stake)
• Gweru Zimbabwe Stake
• Nampula Mozambique (2nd stake)
• Maputo Mozambique (4th stake)
• Harare Zimbabwe (8th stake)
• Ndola Zambia Stake
• Kadoma Zimbabwe Stake
• Mbabane eSwatini Stake
• Gqeberha South Africa Stake
• Soweto South Africa Stake 

Finally, the devotional video also reported that the first full-time missionaries have been assigned to the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe (population: 210,000). The first convert baptisms, the dedication of the country for missionary work by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, and the organization of a member group also recently occurred. 

Analysis

These metrics are highly encouraging and unusual for several reasons. First, the Church has achieved rapid growth despite a membership base of approximately 200,000. Rarely does the Church achieve double-digit percentage growth in the twenty-first century for any metric once membership becomes this large. Second, growth appears to be well distributed across the area which stretches from Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique in the north, to South Africa in the south, and Madagascar, Reunion, and Mauritius to the east. New stakes are slated for organization in all countries with at least 10,000 members, and several districts are planned to become stakes (including the first in eSwatini and the second in Zambia). With the implementation of heightened standards for new stakes to be created outside of North America in 2024, the planned creation of these new stakes signals strong leadership development and member activity. Third, the number of missionaries serving from the Africa South Area is up nearly 50% in a single year time span. Unprecedented success in missionary workshops the area has organized to encourage young single adults to serve full-time missions has appeared to drive much of this growth. Returned missionaries are an invaluable resource for staffing leadership, and increasing numbers of local members serving full-time missions helps improve the self-sufficiency of missionary operations in the Africa South Area. Fourth, growth metrics tracking missionary, temple and family history work, member activity, and seminary and institute enrollment are all consistently higher by 13% or more during this 1-year period. High growth areas of the Church in terms of convert baptisms can often lag behind with some of these metrics, such as temple and family history work, considering the focus has historically been on baptizing new converts and expansion. Fifth, convert baptisms represent the smallest percentage increase among the metrics disclosed in the video (13% increase), yet other metrics, including sacrament meeting attendance (21%) and new converts attending sacrament meeting (26%), are significantly higher. Thus, member activity rates appear to be improving, as growth rates are higher for these measures of member activity than the total number of converts joining the Church, suggesting improved retention and post-baptism engagement. Whether these gains can be sustained over the long term—particularly in newer areas—remains an open empirical question that will be clarified in future reporting. Sixth, the Church in the Africa South Area reported an increase of 11.6% in membership between year-end 2023 and year-end 2024 - a comparatively slower growth rate than most of the metrics discussed (although this statistic only slightly overlaps with the statistics shared in the video). Seventh, the Church is not only building up long-established centers of strength in the area (i.e., Johannesburg, Harare), but is also expanding into areas where the Church has had little or no prior institutional presence, such as São Tomé and Príncipe and northern Mozambique where there is only one stake and no districts in the planned Mozambique Nampula Mission. Five new missions are planned for the area in 2026. Eighth, the Church also reported large numbers of new congregations organized in the area during 2025. According to my count in parentheses, the following countries have had an increase of at least one congregation during 2025: Zimbabwe (20), Mozambique (12), Botswana (6), Madagascar (6), Angola (5), Malawi (3), Lesotho (2), and Zambia (1). 

This pattern of accelerated growth is not isolated to southern Africa. The Africa Central Area also had a major year for growth in 2025. For example, there were approximately 88 new congregations created in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone (a 25% increase for the year), and the number of congregations in Kenya increased by 26 (a 34% increase). The Africa West Area also had a productive year in many countries. Other areas of the world also experienced accelerated growth in 2025 compared to recent years. Preliminary reports suggest the Church may have set a new all-time record for the number of convert baptisms in a single year in 2025 which is likely around 350,000-375,000. Official 2025 statistics will be released in April.