Updated Country Profile - Bangladesh

Click here to access the updated country profile for Bangladesh, the world's eighth most populous nation inhabited by approximately 160 million people. No other sovereign nation in the world has as large of a population and only one Latter-day Saint congregation. Only one other country in the world has a larger population and no mission (Pakistan). The Church in Bangladesh has experienced essentially stagnant growth since the early 1990s when the first and only branch was organized in Dhaka. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The lack of local leadership among the handful of Bangladeshi members in Dhaka continues to delay greater progress with the establishment of the Church. Additionally, no full-time missionaries have been assigned to the country, which appears out of concern of the Church’s legal status in the country and the influence of Islam on local culture. Given security and cultural concerns, only South Asian members appear likely to serve proselytizing missions in Bangladesh. Moreover, missionary activity would likely rely on member referral rather than traditional missionary finding tactics if full-time missionaries are assigned one day. The Church’s growth and progress in nearby Pakistan suggests similar results may be achieved in Bangladesh if the proper vision and consistent outreach is maintained that specifically focuses on the development of local leadership and helping greater numbers of young single adults serve full-time missions so one day there can be a native full-time missionary force capable of meeting local proselytism needs. Bangladeshi members who join the Church in other nations may return to their homeland and help build up the Church. A senior missionary couple from the India New Delhi Mission assisting with leadership development and humanitarian appears likely in the foreseeable future.

LDS Missionary from Bangladesh Begins Missionary Service

The Church recently posted an interesting article on one of the first Bangladeshi Latter-day Saints to serve a mission.  Bangladesh numbers among the most populous nations without any Latter-day Saint missionaries assigned notwithstanding greater tolerance for Christian proselytism than many other Muslim-majority nations.  Only one small branch operates in the capital city, Dhaka.  A link to the article can be found below.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.ph/article/first-mormon-missionary-from-bangladesh-arrives-in-the-philippines

The Most Populous Metropolitan Areas Without a Reported LDS Church Presence

Cities almost always offer greater proselytism opportunity for the LDS Church than rural areas. Large populations concentrated in small geographic areas allow for high mission efficiency with even a small missionary force and few church resources. Cities are generally easily accessible. Rural areas, which tend to be sparsely populated, often require a large number of mission outreach centers to administer a small population and in many areas are difficult to access. Large cities often attract people throughout the region, country, or world to visit, temporarily work, obtain education, or become permanent residents. Latter-day Saint converts from these temporary visitors or residents have many times in the past facilitated the spread of the Church to other unreached areas or even rural communities when they return to their hometowns. The Church has taken advantage of the benefits of city-focused church growth outreach as manifest by the Church generally establishing congregations in the largest cities prior to expanding into smaller cities or rural areas.

There remain many large cities which do not have LDS congregations established. Below is a list of the 14 cities which rank among the world's 100 most populous cities which do not have a reported LDS congregation. Some of these cities likely have groups of foreign or native members, especially in nations with a restricted Latter-day Saint presence like China. Population data was taken from www.citypopulation.de

1. Tehran, Iran (12.8 million)
2. Wuhan, China (8.95 million)
3. Shenyang, China (6.8 million)
4. Chongqing, China (6.4 million)
5. Ahmadabad, India (5.95 million)
6. Chengdu, China (5.7 million)
7. Khartoum, Sudan (4.975 million)
8. Pune, India (4.85 million)
9. Chittagong, Bangladesh (4.625 million)
10. Shantou, China (4.6 million)
11. Alexandria, Egypt (4.575 million)
12. Harbin, China (4.4 million)
13. Surat, India (4.225 million)
14. Kanpur, India (3.675 million)

With the exception of English-speaking branches or small congregations for native members in China, none of the above listed cities appear likely to have LDS congregations created in the near future. Iran, Sudan, and Egypt have heavy restrictions and widespread abuse or religious freedom whereas cities listed above in India are located in areas with few Christians and generally strong anti-Christian sentiments. Bangladesh offers considerable religious freedom for Christians, but the small Bangladeshi Latter-day Saint community concentrated in Dhaka may delay any gains in national outreach for many more years.

Taking the Gospel to the Nations: Country Reports

For the past several months David Stewart and I have been developing an international almanac that details LDS Church growth in countries around the world, exploring the Church's history in these nations and opportunities and challenges for future growth. The almanac will not be completed until mid-2011 and in addition to being printed into a book, David Stewart will provide the profiles online at his site, Cumorah.com. Two profiles have already been posted for Angola and Bangladesh.