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. 

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. 

Worldwide Number of Convert Baptisms Reach All-time High

Yesterday, The Church News published an article regarding instruction provided by apostle Elder Quintin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the annual new mission presidents training seminar in Provo, Utah. Elder Cook shared the following statistics in his remarks:

• The worldwide number of convert baptisms during the 12-month period from June 2024 to May 2025 was the highest ever reported during any 12-month period of the Church since its founding in 1830.
• During the first quarter of 2025, "every region of the world" had at least a 20% increase in the number of convert baptisms compared to the first quarter of 2024.
• The annual number of convert baptisms in 2024 (308,682) was the highest reported in approximately 25 years, and "the rate of increase for New Members Attending Sacrament Meeting was even higher."
• People who attend sacrament meeting within one week of first meeting with full-time missionaries are 10 times more likely to be baptized and confirmed. 

These reports are highly encouraging after decades of stagnation or decline in annual convert baptisms. From 2000 to 2019, the average was 264,769 per year. The Church's all-time high for the most converts ever baptized in a single calendar year was 330,877 in 1990. The next highest years were 1996 (321,385), 1989 (318,940), and 1997 (317,798). Therefore, there have been more than 330,877 converts baptized between June 2024 and May 2025. Moreover, the first quarter of 2025 saw more than a 20% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024. If the number of convert baptisms increases by 20% in 2025, then there would be 370,418 converts baptized in 2025 — approximately 40,000 more than the previous all-time high. If the trajectory continues into 2026, we may witness the highest sustained growth in convert baptisms since the early 1990s—a dramatic reversal after two decades of stagnation and slowing membership growth rates. From 2016 to 2022, there were fewer than 250,000 convert baptisms per year. Elder Cook indicated that three principles have improved the effectiveness of the missionary program: (1) focusing all activities on the missionary purpose and the doctrine of Christ, (2) inviting and helping people to attend sacrament meeting, and (3) effectively finding people to teach.

Perhaps the most remarkable and surprising statistic shared by Elder Cook in this article was that "every region of the world" had at least a 20% increase in the number of converts baptized in 2025 compared to 2024. It is unclear how broadly he is defining world regions, but this is probably broken down by continent. Although Elder Cook indicated growth in every region, the Church does not release detailed regional data, making it difficult to independently verify where the greatest increases are occurring. The statistic shared by Elder Cook suggests that there has been an increase in global receptivity to the Latter-day Saint Gospel message, improvements in the effectiveness of the missionary program, or a combination of the two. Although the number of converts baptized worldwide has increased at a more rapid rate regardless of world region, it is probable that many of the new converts in more secularized areas of the world are from migrant, immigrant, or minority groups who have historically exhibited higher receptivity than their more established, ethnic majority counterparts. Convert retention also appears to be good considering Elder Cook's remark that sacrament meeting attendance for new converts was an even higher rate of increase than the total number of converts baptized. Historically, some critics have expressed concern about rushed baptisms and long-term retention challenges. However, Elder Cook’s emphasis on sacrament attendance and doctrinal focus may reflect efforts to address these very issues, although retention 5–10 years after baptism has historically — and continues to — remain a major challenge. It remains unclear how these recent gains are distributed across global regions. While the Church faces increasing secularization and disaffiliation in many developed countries, these new trends may reflect growth in more receptive areas — including among immigrant populations in those same secular regions.

It remains to be seen whether this momentum will continue into future years. However, the current trend suggests that significant structural improvements in missionary work are underway — despite low member activity rates (15–25% of nominal membership) in most countries. While these new figures are the highest since the 1990s, at the time when the Church reported its most significant numerical increases in convert baptisms, it is worth remembering that many of those convert booms did not result in sustained activity or stake viability. The future impact of the current growth will likely depend on improvements in post-baptism support and doctrinal engagement. If the Church can sustain these gains while simultaneously improving long-term integration, doctrinal conversion, and local leadership development, it may mark not only a numerical revival — but a qualitative one as well.

Country-by-Country Membership Statistics Released for 2024

The Church has released year-end 2024 membership and congregation totals for most nations with a reported Church presence. These statistics can be accessed on Church's official website at https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics.

Countries with the highest annual membership growth rates for 2024 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, and 2023. 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 2024. Countries in bold experienced a membership increase greater than 200 during 2024.

1. Russia* - 255% - 18,132
2. Rwanda - 61.9% - 2,489
3. Mozambique - 27.9% - 31,633
4. Tanzania - 26.5% - 5,022 
5. Malawi - 24.3% - 5,937
6. Angola - 24.1% - 7,321
7. Lesotho - 21.0% - 1,890
8. Zambia - 19.7% - 7,072
9. Burundi - 17.3% - 1,807
10. DR Congo - 16.6% - 134,067
11. Benin - 15.2% - 7,071
12. Republic of Georgia - 14.2% - 313
13. Uganda - 13.9% - 25,210
14. Madagascar - 12.7% - 17,331
15. Zimbabwe - 11.7% - 46,071
16. Sierra Leone - 11.4% - 34,617
17. Kazakhstan - 11.0% - 242
18. Ethiopia - 10.5% - 2,423
19. Kenya - 10.4% - 21,204
20. Bosnia and Herzegovina - 10.3% - 86
    

*Membership dramatically increased in Russia due an apparent change in membership reporting from 2023

The following is a list of the top 10 countries with the highest negative membership growth rates (i.e., fastest rate of membership decline) during 2024. 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 2023 membership total for the country. Four of these countries had at least 1,000 members: the Marshall Islands, Romania, Singapore, and Ukraine.

1. Palau - -23.3% - 421
2. Israel - -5.78% - 310
3. Luxembourg - -3.51% - 522
4. Kuwait - -3.48% - 361
5. Iceland - -2.65% - 404
6. Romania - -2.38% - 3,029
7. Jersey - -1.82% - 270
8. Singapore - -1.74% - 3,227
9. Marshall Islands - -1.51% - 6,660
10. Ukraine - -1.49% - 9,903

Below is a list of the top 10 countries by numerical membership net increase for 2024. 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 2024 that is within that country). Lists are also available for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. A list of the biennial period of 2020-2021 is also available. 73.4% of the 2024 net increase in Church membership can be attributed to the following 11 nations (I included 11 this year because Russia should not count given a change in membership reporting appears to explain the large increase in membership for the year). 

1. United States - 61,163 - 21.5%
2. Brazil - 30,865 - 10.9%
3. DR Congo - 19,040 - 6.7%
4. Nigeria - 17,687 - 6.2%
5. Mexico - 17,652 - 6.2%
6. Philippines - 15,190 - 5.3%
7. Russia* - 13,031 - 4.6%
   
8. Peru - 10,865 - 3.8%
9. Argentina - 9,642 - 3.4%
10. Mozambique - 6,900 - 2.4%
11. Ghana - 6,582 - 2.3%
    

*Membership dramatically increased in Russia due an apparent change in membership reporting from 2023

Below is a list of the top four countries by numerical membership decrease for 2024. Each country is provided with the numerical national decrease in membership during the year 2024. There were only four countries that experienced a net decrease by 100 or more during 2024. 

1. Japan - -474
2. Ukraine - -150
3. Palau - -128
4. Marshall Islands - -102

Several points to make with the 2024 annual membership growth numbers.

First, growth rates in East Africa and Central Africa have not only been sustained from 2023 but accelerated in some nations during 2024. This is especially impressive, as higher rates of membership growth become more difficult to achieve as membership grows larger. All countries in the Africa Central Area with reported statistics experienced at least 10% annual membership growth in 2024, except for the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo (which experienced an annual membership growth rate of 8.4%). Membership in Rwanda more than doubled during the two-year period from year-end 2022 to year-end 2024. For the first time in over a decade, membership increased by more than 10% in Ethiopia and Uganda. In the DR Congo, membership increased by 16.6%—the highest annual growth rate since 2002, when there were only 13,637 members. The Church also experienced very high rates of membership growth in Mozambique and Malawi. In Mozambique, membership has doubled since year-end 2021, and there are now over 31,000 Latter-day Saints in the country. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Church reported its second-highest annual growth rate for membership since 2004. In southern Africa, the Church in Botswana and South Africa reported the highest membership growth rates in over a decade. In Lesotho, the Church reported its highest annual membership growth rate since 1993, when there were only 300 members. In Angola, Church membership grew by 24.1%—the highest annual growth rate since 2009, when there were fewer than 1,000 members in the country. In West Africa, membership growth rates accelerated in most countries in 2024 compared to 2023, but generally remained below growth rates achieved prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Second, the Church in Europe experienced some of its most rapid membership growth in decades during 2024 in several countries. In Spain, Church membership increased by 3.85% (just slightly higher than the 3.82% reported for 2023)—the highest reported by the Church since 2007. In Italy, membership grew by 2.62% in 2024—the highest annual growth rate since 2004 (which was also 2.62%). In France, Church membership increased by 1.79%—also the highest annual membership growth rate since 2007. In Germany, Church membership increased by 1.06%—the highest rate of membership growth since 2011. In Denmark, membership increased by 0.83%—the second-highest year for membership growth since 1995. Most other European countries experienced typical membership growth rates consistent with recent years.

Third, the Church in the United States reported nearly the same net increase in membership for 2024 compared to 2023 (61,163 in 2024 versus 64,765 in 2023), with membership increasing by 0.89% for the year. The year 2023 was significant for membership growth in the United States, as it saw the highest net increase in membership (64,765) since 2015 and the highest annual membership growth rate (0.95%) since that same year. Thus, recent membership growth in the United States appears to represent a new trend, rather than a continuation of the steady decline in membership growth that had persisted for nearly a decade.

Fourth, membership growth rates in much of Latin America have returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. In a few instances, annual membership growth rates were even higher than before the pandemic. For example, the Church in Paraguay reported its highest membership growth rate since 2013 (2.27%), while the Church in Uruguay reported its highest membership growth rate since 2012 (1.71%). Church membership in Puerto Rico grew by 1.0% in 2024—the highest seen in a decade.

Fifth, the Church in Canada reported an annual membership growth rate of 1.26% for 2024—slightly higher than in 2023 and the highest rate of annual membership growth since 2012.

New Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Missionary Training Center

Yesterday, the Church announced that an official missionary training center (MTC) will open in August 2024 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) to train missionaries in French destined to serve in this region of Africa. Although the Church has previously operated an unofficial MTC in Kinshasa for a couple of years, the new MTC will be housed in a new building with capacity of up to 200 missionaries at a time. This MTC marks the third MTC in Africa following MTCs in Accra, Ghana and Johannesburg, South Africa.

The announcement of the new MTC comes at a time when the Church has experienced a significant consolidation of MTCs worldwide from many smaller MTCs into larger regional ones. There will be 11 MTCs worldwide once the new center opens in Kinshasa. Other MTCs currently in operation are located in Brazil, England, Ghana, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand (opened in 2023), and Utah. At one point, there were 19 MTCs throughout the world in the late 1990s, although centers closed in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Japan, Samoa, South Korea, Spain, and Tonga to help conserve resources and provide higher quality training experiences for new missionaries. The Church has also operated an unofficial MTC in India for some time. The new MTC being located in the DR Congo instead of the Africa Central Area Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya is also unusual, as MTCs are usually located in the same city as the area offices.

The new MTC in Kinshasa has been greatly needed for many years. The DR Congo has supplied large numbers of young adults serving full-time missionaries for many years, and the training of these missionaries has been a challenge due to difficulties with securing visas and transportation to other countries. The Church in the DR Congo experiences some of the most rapid growth in the world, and many of these growth developments have been highlighted in this blog. In a couple weeks, the Church will organize two new missions in the DR Congo, bringing the total number of missions in the country to seven. The Church may have as many as half a million Latter-day Saints in the DR Congo by 2040 given historical growth trends. Growth in the DR Congo has come after decades of careful planning and high standards for convert baptism which has resulted in some of the highest member activity rates in the world (usually over 80%).

Unprecedented Growth in East Africa

Within the past 2-3 years, the Church has begun to experience unprecedented growth in East Africa where countries have historically ranked among the least reached in the world by Latter-day Saints (and among the slowest growth for the Church in Africa). In this post, I will briefly summarize historical growth trends in East Africa, describe current growth trends and significant developments, and offer predictions for the foreseeable future.

INTRODUCTION

East Africa is traditionally defined as containing countries that stretch from Eritrea, South Sudan, and Ethiopia in the north, to Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the south, to Zambia, Madagascar and Indian Ocean nations in the east, and Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda to the west. With a population of approximately half a billion people, East Africa is the most populous region of Africa and has presented many opportunities for growth which have not been taken advantage of by mission and area presidencies for decades. Consequently, extremely few mission and area resources have been allocated to East Africa notwithstanding political stability, religious freedom, and enormous populations that have often been receptive to the Latter-day Saint gospel message in the past 25 years. For example, in 2000 there were only three missions in all of East Africa that were headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya (organized in 1991); Harare, Zimbabwe (organized in 1987); and Antananarivo, Madagascar (organized in 1998). In fact, several of these nations did not have a Church presence established until relatively recently, such as Malawi (2000), Rwanda (2008), and Burundi (presence reestablished in 2010 after a brief period of an official presence in the early 1990s). Several nations today do not have any official branches, such as South Sudan (used to have one branch for a couple years in the late 2000s/early 2010s), Eritrea, Djibouti (used to have a military branch), Somalia (used to have a branch in Mogadishu primarily comprised of foreigners), Comoros, and Mayotte (officially part of France; very small branch used to operate until approximately 10-15 years ago). With only a few exceptions, most of the countries in East Africa have generally reported slow to moderate membership and congregational growth rates. Also, the Church has generally reported a presence in only a handful of cities in most East African countries. Rural communities in East Africa are almost entirely unreached by the Church. The only examples of branches functioning in rural communities in East Africa are in a few isolated locations in Kenya, Madagascar, and Uganda.

The creation of the Africa Central Area with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya in 2020 has been a major catalyst that has appeared primarily responsible for the recent surge in growth that has occurred in most of the countries in East Africa. Prior to the creation of the new area, there were only two administrative areas in Africa: the Africa West Area and the Africa Southeast Area (later renamed the Africa South Area). Although the Africa Central Area also includes Central Africa, the area's headquarters in East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya has appeared to favor greater focus and expansion into East Africa more than Central Africa due to closer geographic proximity. Furthermore, the number of missions in East Africa has increased significantly from 3 in 2000 to 5 in 2010 and 9 in 2020. By mid-2024, the Church will have 11 missions in the area. Another major catalyst for recent growth in some countries has been greater use of local languages rather than English, such as Swahili and Kinyarwanda.

SUMMARY OF RECENT GROWTH DEVELOPMENTS

See below for a summary of many of the recent developments in regard to rapid growth in East Africa. Click on the country name that is in bold to access the updated statistical profile on cumorah.com (most profiles have been updated with 2023 figures, and the ones that have not been updated yet will soon be updated).

• Burundi - The number of branches has doubled from four to eight since January 2024. The Church organized its first branches in four additional cities since January, including Cibitoke (location where a mission president visited hundreds who wanted to join the Church approximately 13-14 years ago but were told to wait until the Church is better established), Gitega, Muzinda, and Ngozi. Never in the Church's history in modern times has the Church in a country gone from official branches in only one city to five cities within so short a period of time. Church membership grew from 823 in 2021 to 1,541 in 2023. The Bujumbura Burundi District was created in 2021, and today there are four branches in the district. The population of Burundi is 13.2 million.
• Ethiopia - Three new branches were organized in Addis Ababa in 2022 and 2023. A new group was just organized on the outskirts of Addis Ababa in Burayu. The population of Ethiopia is 127 million.
  
• Kenya -  Annual membership growth rates have been sustained at 9-10% for 2022 and 2023. Membership grew in 2023 at the fastest rate reported since 2009. The number of wards and branches increased from 54 at year-end 2021 to 69 at present. The Church organized its first branches in six cities/towns/villages in 2023. A third stake was organized in Nairobi in 2023. The population of Kenya is 55.1 million.
  
• Madagascar - Church membership increased by 7.1% in 2023 - the highest annual percentage growth rate for membership since 2012. Two new stakes have been organized since 2022, and there are now four stakes and two districts. The population of Madagascar is 30.3 million.
  
• Malawi - Church membership increased by 23.4% in 2023 - the highest annual percentage growth rate for membership since 2011. There are now 4,776 Latter-day Saints in Malawi. The number of branches in Malawi increased from 8 to 13 between 2020 and 2023. The population of Malawi is 20.9 million.
  
• Mozambique - Church membership increased by more than 6,000 in 2023 to 24,733 by the end of the year - a 34.1% annual increase and one of the largest annual net increases in membership for the entire worldwide Church. Mozambique ranked as the country with the highest membership growth rate in 2023 among countries with publicly released membership totals. Mozambique is also the East African country with the second most Latter-day Saints. However, Church-reported membership comprises a mere 0.073% of the population (one Latter-day Saint per 1,371 people). The number of wards and branches in Mozambique increased by 23.2% in 2023, as there were 13 new wards/branches organized. There are 18 cities with an official ward or branches - 6 of which had their first ward or branch organized since 2022 (and all six of these cities are located in southern Mozambique). Two new stakes and one new district were organized in Mozambique in 2023. The population of Mozambique is 33.9 million.
  
• Rwanda - The number of branches has increased from four to nine since 2021, and the first branch outside of Kigali was created in Nyamata in 2022. The Rwanda Kigali Mission was organized in 2022 to service Rwanda, Burundi, and some eastern portions of the DR Congo. Church membership in Rwanda increased from 843 in 2021 to 1,537 in 2023. The population of Rwanda is 14.1 million.
  
• Tanzania - Church membership increased by nearly 1,000 in 2023 which was a 32.3% annual increase - the highest reported by the Church in Tanzania since 1998-1999 when there were less than 500 members. The Church reported 3,969 members as of year-end 2023. The number of branches has proliferated from 10 in 2020 to 27 today. Most of these new branches have been organized in Dar Es Salaam where there are now 18 branches. Three new districts have been organized since 2022 in Dar Es Salaam (Chang'ombe), Arusha, and Mwanza. The number of cities with an official branch has increased in the past three years from 3 to 5 with the creation of branches in Moshi (2021) and Dodoma (2023). The population of Tanzania is 67.4 million.
• Uganda - The Church organized its first branches in three previously unreached cities in 2023 and 2024 (Bukomero, Kalisizo, and Mbarara), thereby increasing the number of cities/towns/villages with at least one ward or branch to 18. The population of Uganda is 48.6 million.
  
• Zambia - Church membership increased by 11.2% in 2023 to 5,906 - the most rapid membership growth reported by the Church in Zambia since 2014. A third branch was created in Kitwe. The population of Zambia is 20.6 million.
  
• Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe became the first country in East Africa to reach 100 official congregations during 2023, as the number of wards/branches increased from 91 to 100 during the year. Church membership increased by 7.8% in 2023 - the highest annual membership growth rate seen in Zimbabwe since 2013. The Church organized its first branches in five cities between 2000 and 2023, raising the number of cities/towns/villages with a ward or branch to 26. Zimbabwe is the East African country with the highest percentage of Latter-day Saints in the population, at 0.25%, or one Latter-day Saint per 404 people. The population of Zimbabwe is 16.7 million.
  

PROSPECTS FOR FUTURE GROWTH

Growth conditions in East Africa remain highly favorable, and prospects appear good for continued rapid growth so long as reasonably high member activity and convert retention rates are sustained (and the amount of resources allocated to the area continue to increase). Here is a list of likely developments within the next 2-5 years that I believe are likely for East Africa given recent growth trends and future opportunities for growth:

• Continued National Outreach Expansion:
• Prospects appear most favorable in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar for the opening of many cities, towns, and villages to missionary work and creating branches.
  
• Area and mission leadership may begin to expand outreach in countries where there has been little to no expansion in the past decade, such as Malawi and Zambia.
• Ethiopia appears unlikely to have much outreach expansion until a solid center of strength is established in Addis Ababa and the district becomes a stake.
• The Reestablishment of the Church in South Sudan: I have received reports that the Juba Branch may be close to reinstatement. The Church recently obtained registration with the South Sudanese government. Conditions for growth appear highly favorable. South Sudanese have been uniquely receptive to the Latter-day Saint gospel message and often join the Church in other countries, including in East Africa such as Ethiopia and Uganda.
  
• The Creation of the First Stakes in Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Rwanda: All of these countries appear likely to have stakes organized in the next 2-5 years, as there are emerging center of strengths that are approaching the minimum requirements to become stakes. 
• Adoption of Kirundi as an Official Church Language in Burundi and Chichewa as an Official Language in Malawi: Based on the most recent information I have received, Church activities and services remain to be conducted in French and Swahili in Burundi. However, Kirundi is the primary language spoken in Burundi. With the establishment of branches outside of Bujumbura, it appears likely that we will see a transition to Kirundi similar to what was seen in the past few years in Rwanda when the official language of Church operations transitioned from English to Kinyarwanda. The Church in Malawi also seems likely to utilize Chichewa as its official language given this is the predominant language spoke in the country, including in both Church centers in Blantyre and Lilongwe.
  
• The Creation of More Missions: Locations that appear most likely to have new missions organized in East Africa during the next 2-5 years include:
• Bujumbura, Burundi to service Burundi (currently assigned to the Rwanda Kigali Mission)
• Eldoret, Kenya to service western Kenya (currently assigned to the Kenya Nairobi Mission. The Kenya Nairobi Mission will divide this summer to create a second mission based in Nairobi).
• Lilongwe, Malawi to service Malawi (currently assigned to the Zambia Lusaka Mission).
• A second mission in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (currently one mission for the entire country). 
• A second mission in Kampala, Uganda (currently one mission for the entire country).
• Third mission in Zimbabwe (most likely scenario appears to be a second mission in Harare). 
• Additional Temple Announcements: The following locations appear most likely to have temples announced within the next five years (although many of these are likely in 4-5 years out and not in the immediate future). I have ordered these from most likely to least likely to be announced.
  
• Kampala, Uganda - Uganda is the country with the most Latter-day Saints without a temple announced or dedicated. Kampala appears one of the most likely locations in the world to have a temple announced in the immediate future.
  
• Maputo, Mozambique - There are now three stakes in Maputo, and long distance from Beira suggest that a separate temple in Maputo is highly likely. The Church in Mozambique has experienced some of the most rapid growth in the worldwide Church in the past decade. All seven stakes in Mozambique have been organized since 2015, and more stakes appear likely to be organized in the foreseeable future.
  
• Bulawayo, Zimbabwe - There have been two stakes in Bulawayo since 2023, and a third stake appears likely in the foreseeable future. Distance from Harare and a mission in Bulawayo both appear to make Bulawayo a good candidate for a future temple.
  
• Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania - Similar to the situation with the recent announcement of the Luanda Angola Temple, the Church in Tanzania has experienced rapid growth in both membership and the number of congregations. The creation of two stakes in Dar Es Salaam appears likely within the next 2-4 years. 
• Kigali, Rwanda - With sustained rapid growth, the creation of a stake appears likely in the next 1-3 years. A second stake may be a possibility by 2028 or 2029. A temple in Kigali appears more likely than in Burundi due to a highly concentrated membership in Kigali that has also been members of the Church longer (and with historically higher activity rates) than in Burundi.
  
• Lusaka, Zambia - This location may be a candidate for a temple, but this would be much more likely if there were two stakes in Lusaka. Unfortunately, the Church in Lusaka has experienced no increase in the number of wards since the stake was organized in 2015.
• Bujumbura, Burundi - A more remote possibility, Bujumbura may have a temple announced by 2029, especially given rapid growth in neighboring cities in the DR Congo, many of which have had branches just recently organized in the past year (i.e., Bakara, Bukavu, Goma, Kavumu, Kalemie) and where most speak Swahili (commonly spoken in the Bujumbura area). 
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - The most remote prospect, Addis Ababa may be a site for a temple announcement in 5 years, but this will depend on whether the Church can achieve sufficient growth and member activity to create a stake with prospects of a second stake in the foreseeable future. However, the Church in Ethiopia has struggled for decades with leadership development and low member activity rates which have been exacerbated by a lack of a mission in the country until 2020 and difficulties with full-time missionaries becoming proficient speakers of Amharic.

Membership Growth by US State for 2023

See below for a list of annual membership growth rates by each United States state for the year 2023. Previous lists are available for 2017, 2018, the biennial period of 2020-2021, and 2022. It is important to note that annual membership growth rates by state have improved beyond what was seen immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, there were only five states reporting a net decline in membership for the year (there were 22 during the 2020-2021 period, whereas there were 13 in 2018 and nine in 2017). The states that had the highest percentage growth rates for membership in 2023 were similar to the states reported in 2022, including New York (most rapid membership growth rate since 2002) and South Carolina (most rapid membership growth rate since 2007). The Church in Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee continued to report some of the highest membership growth rates in decades in these states. Rhode Island ranked at the top of the list, with membership increasing by over 10% in 2023 (and the highest reported in that state since the mid-1990s). With one of the smallest memberships of any state, Rhode Island is sensitive to even relatively small fluctuations in membership (there were 4,796 Latter-day Saints in Rhode Island as of year-end 2023). California continued to report a net decline in membership (which has occurred year over year since 2014), although this was near zero for the first time in many years (0.05% decrease in membership for 2023). The rate of membership decrease in California was highest during the 2020-2021 period (-2.84%), and membership decline has generally ranged from 0.2-1.0% within the past decade. Membership growth rates in Utah continue to be near historic lows, at a mere 0.78% in 2023. As noted in my analysis for 2022, members moving away from Utah in larger numbers may partially explain low membership growth rates in that state. However, declining birth rates in the Church also likely contribute to slowing membership growth in Utah. Finally, the state with the greatest decline in membership was New Hampshire (-4.92%). However, it is unclear whether this may have been due to membership records or one or more congregations switching from New Hampshire to a neighboring state rather than an actual decline in membership in the area. 

See below for a list of states and the District of Columbia ranked by membership growth rate for 2023:

1. Rhode Island	10.23%
2. South Carolina	3.57%
3. Arkansas	3.46%
4. New York	3.24%
5. Missouri	3.18%
6. Tennessee	3.10%
7. Nebraska	2.80%
8. New Jersey	2.66%
9. Florida	2.61%
10. Delaware	2.19%
11. Georgia	2.08%
12. Indiana	2.06%
13. Iowa	2.05%
14. North Carolina	1.98%
15. Texas	1.93%
16. Oklahoma	1.92%
17. Kentucky	1.86%
18. Maryland	1.84%
19. Alabama	1.78%
20. Wisconsin	1.74%
21. North Dakota	1.70%
22. Massachusetts	1.67%
23. Maine	1.62%
24. Pennsylvania	1.59%
25. West Virginia	1.52%
26. District of Columbia	1.48%
27. Illinois	1.44%
28. Virginia	1.37%
29. Ohio	1.22%
30. Connecticut	1.21%
31. Minnesota	1.18%
32. Alaska	1.11%
33. Kansas	1.11%
34. Michigan	1.09%
35. South Dakota	0.93%
36. Hawaii	0.91%
37. Arizona	0.79%
38. Utah	0.78%
39. Montana	0.68%
40. Louisiana	0.63%
41. New Mexico	0.55%
42. Mississippi	0.49%
43. Idaho	0.47%
44. Nevada	0.45%
45. Colorado	0.32%
46. Washington	0.15%
47. Oregon	-0.02%
48. California	-0.05%
49. Vermont	-0.15%
50. Wyoming	-0.16%
51. New Hampshire	-4.92%

Country-by-Country Membership Statistics Released for 2023; Membership Growth in the United States Highest Since 2015

The Church has released year-end 2023 membership and congregation totals for most nations with a reported Church presence. These statistics can be accessed on Church's official website at https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics.

Countries with the highest annual membership growth rates for 2023 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, and 2022. 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 2023. Countries in bold experienced a membership increase greater than 200 during 2023.

1. Mozambique - 34.1% -24,733
2. Rwanda - 33.2% - 1,537
3. Tanzania - 32.3% - 3,969
4. Burundi - 24.3% - 1,541
5. Angola - 23.9% - 5,898
6. Malawi - 23.4% - 4,776
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina - 13.0% - 78
8. Cameroon - 12.9% - 3,071
9. DR Congo - 11.8% - 115,027
10. Zambia - 11.2% - 5,906
11. Solomon Islands - 10.8% - 1,524
12. Kenya - 10.1% - 19,206
13. Republic of the Congo - 10.0% - 12,626
    

The following is a list of the top 10 countries with the highest negative membership growth rates (i.e., fastest rate of membership decline) during 2023. 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 2023 membership total for the country. Only three of these countries had at least 1,000 members: Ukraine, Guam, and Estonia.

1. Kazakhstan - -4.80% - 218
2. Montenegro - -3.13% - 31
3. Ukraine - -2.81% - 10,053
4. Sint Maarten - -2.74% - 284
5. Israel - -2.66% - 329
6. Jersey - -2.48% - 275
7. Estonia - -1.83% - 1,125
8. Guernsey - -1.67% - 59
9. Guam - -1.41% - 2,511
10. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - -1.24% - 717
    

Below is a list of the top 10 countries by numerical membership net increase for 2023. 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 2023 that is within that country). Lists are also available for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. A list of the biennial period of 2020-2021 is also available. 70.9% of the 2022 net increase in Church membership can be attributed to the following 10 nations. 

1. United States - 64,765 - 29.1%
2. Brazil - 22,050 - 9.9%
3. Philippines - 14,017 - 6.3%
4. DR Congo - 12,165 - 5.5%
5. Nigeria - 11,482 - 5.2%
6. Mexico - 8,686 - 3.9%
7. Peru - 7,081 - 3.2%
8. Argentina - 6,533 - 2.9%
9. Mozambique - 6,290 - 2.8%
10. Ghana - 4,964 - 2.2%
    

Below is a list of the top four countries by numerical membership decrease for 2023. Each country is provided with the numerical national decrease in membership during the year 2023. There were only four countries that experienced a net decrease by 100 or more during 2023. 

1. United Kingdom - -583
2. Ukraine - -291
3. Tonga - -196
4. Japan - -155
   

Several points to make with the 2023 annual membership growth numbers.

First, the Church continues to experience rapid, unprecedented growth in East Africa - a region of Africa that has been historically underserved with resources with enormous populations and where the Church has generally reported slow or moderate growth despite a Church presence in most nations for decades. All four of the countries with the most rapid membership growth rates in 2023 were in East Africa. Church membership in Tanzania has more than doubled within the past four years to approximately 4,000. In Mozambique, there was a net increase of 6,290 just in 2023 - a remarkable number considering there were only 18,443 Latter-day Saints at the beginning of the year. Rwanda and Burundi remain near the top of the list. Like Tanzania, Church membership in Rwanda and Burundi has doubled within the past four years. The creation of the Africa Central Area in 2020, combined with more aggressive national outreach expansion efforts by mission leadership and using Swahili and local languages for Church meetings and in proselytism, such as Kinyarwanda, appear to have contributed to this acceleration in growth. 

Second, the Church continues to maintain rapid growth in Central Africa, particularly in the DR Congo where membership has surpassed 100,000 and annual membership growth rates remain higher than 10%. The Church in Angola has continued to experience rapid growth, with membership doubling within the past five years to approximately 5,900.

Third, annual membership growth rates have slowed in West Africa - the area of Africa that generally experienced the most rapid membership growth rates in the 2010s. There were no countries in West Africa (with published membership statistics) that experienced an annual membership growth rate of 10% or more during 2023. In contrast, the Church in most West African nations experienced membership growth rates greater than 10% during most years in the 2010s. Togo and Benin are at the top of the list, with membership growth rates of 9.9% and 9.5% in 2023, respectively. Membership growth rates remained significant, albeit less impressive than in the 2010s, for Sierra Leone (7.7%), but were substantially lower for Liberia (5.4%), Nigeria (5.2%), Ghana (4.9%), and Cote d'Ivoire (4.8%). The Church in West Africa in the past 1-2 years has opened far fewer previously unreached cities, towns, and villages to missionary work and organized few congregations than in many of the years in the 2010s when hundreds of locations in West Africa had branches organized for the first time. Mission leaders in West Africa have generally reported an emphasis on improving the quality of prebaptismal teaching, which has resulted in fewer convert baptisms (or at least not accelerating rates of convert baptisms), particularly in locations where there have been more frequent instances of struggling congregations (which has appeared to be due to disrupted church operations and missionary work from the COVID-19 pandemic such as in some areas of Ghana). Even then, missions such as the Liberia Monrovia Mission, have reported a renewed emphasis on quality over quantity for convert baptism goals, and this has resulted in a substantial decrease in the numbers of converts baptized.

Fourth, the Church in the United States reported the highest net increase in membership (64,765) since 2015 and the highest annual membership growth rate (0.95%) since 2015. In contrast, the net increase in Church membership for the United States generally ranged from 39,000-42,000 between 2018 and 2022 (and it was only 41,987 for the two-year period from year-end 2019 to year-end 2021). It is unclear what has driven an increase of more than 20,000 for 2023 compared to the annual average for the several previous years. Some possibilities include fewer deaths, larger numbers of convert baptisms, larger numbers of new children of record, higher rates of children of record being baptized at age 8, and fewer incidents of name removal or excommunication (loss of membership), although I do not have enough information to determine whether it is primarily one variable or a combination of these variables that is responsible for this development. 

Fifth, of the 159 countries/territories with reported membership figures for 2023, 61 experienced near-zero growth (less than 1%) or negative membership growth rates. However, there were only four countries where membership decreased by more than 100 for the year. Most of these nations were in Europe, developed countries in Asia, and the Caribbean.

Mormon Land Podcast Episode

The Salt Lake Tribune invited me to do a podcast on the 2022 country-by-country membership statistical figures released earlier this month. The podcast can be accessed here.

Membership Growth by US State for 2022

See below for a list of annual membership growth rates by each United States state for the year 2022. Previous lists are available for 2017, 2018, and the biennial period of 2020-2021. It is important to note that annual membership growth rates by state have mostly returned to trends seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with only eight states reporting a net decline in membership for the year (there were 22 during the 2020-2021 period, whereas there were 13 in 2018 and nine in 2017). The biggest unexpected development was that membership growth rates in Utah slowed significantly in 2022 compared to most previous years (usually about 1-2 percent a year, whereas this past year it was a mere 0.56% - probably the lowest membership growth rate ever reported for the Church in Utah). Most states returned to previous membership growth rates experienced during the 2010s or have reported more rapid membership growth than usual. These findings indicate that it is likely more Latter-day Saints are moving away from Utah and states with negative membership growth to these states with the highest membership growth rates and/or there has been an increase in convert baptisms in these states with the greatest membership growth. Some other states that had an unusual year for 2022 compared to recent years (in regard to annual membership growth rates) include New York (most rapid membership growth rate since 2008), Arkansas and Missouri (most rapid membership growth rates since 2004), and South Carolina and Tennessee (most rapid membership growth rates since 2007). California is the only state that has consistently experienced a decline in membership for the most consecutive years (negative membership growth has occurred since 2014). The rate of membership decrease in California was highest during the 2020-2021 period (-2.84%), and membership decline has returned to rates seen shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic (it was -0.81 in 2018 and -0.82 in 2022).

1. Arkansas    4.05%
2. Tennessee    3.55%
3. Missouri    3.43%
4. South Carolina    3.10%
5. North Carolina    2.73%
6. Alabama    2.54%
7. Florida    2.41%
8. New York    2.40%
9. Oklahoma    2.06%
10. Kentucky    2.03%
11. Texas    1.96%
12. Kansas    1.85%
13. North Dakota    1.77%
14. South Dakota    1.74%
15. Rhode Island    1.59%
16. Georgia    1.57%
17. Minnesota    1.53%
18. Connecticut    1.36%
19. Wisconsin    1.31%
20. Ohio    1.28%
21. Indiana    1.23%
22. Mississippi    1.15%
23. New Jersey    1.09%
24. District of Columbia    1.02%
25. Alaska    0.97%
26. Massachusetts    0.95%
27. Illinois    0.85%
28. Montana    0.83%
29. Michigan    0.80%
30. Iowa    0.79%
31. Virginia    0.72%
32. Nebraska    0.69%
33. West Virginia    0.67%
34. Maine    0.61%
35. Louisiana    0.60%
36. Idaho    0.56%
37. Utah    0.56%
38. Wyoming    0.51%
39. New Hampshire    0.32%
40. Delaware    0.32%
41. Arizona    0.27%
42. Hawaii    0.13%
43. Pennsylvania    0.08%
44. Maryland    -0.03%
45. New Mexico    -0.06%
46. Colorado    -0.20%
47. Nevada    -0.33%
48. Vermont    -0.52%
49. Oregon    -0.62%
50. Washington    -0.78%
51. California    -0.82%

See below for a list of states ranked by total membership as of year-end 2022:

1. Utah    2,173,560
2. California    728,995
3. Idaho    473,894
4. Arizona    439,411
5. Texas    378,281
6. Washington    281,389
7. Nevada    181,975
8. Florida    168,527
9. Oregon    150,207
10. Colorado    148,708
    
11. Virginia    97,449
12. North Carolina    94,018
13. Georgia    89,285
14. New York    84,857
15. Missouri    77,959
16. Hawaii    74,952
17. New Mexico    69,055
18. Wyoming    67,797
19. Ohio    63,814
20. Tennessee    57,422
21. Illinois    57,015
22. Pennsylvania    52,193
23. Oklahoma    51,847
24. Montana    51,715
25. Indiana    46,823
26. Michigan    45,547
27. South Carolina    44,230
28. Maryland    43,296
29. Alabama    39,832
30. Kansas    39,356
31. Kentucky    37,830
32. Arkansas    35,405
33. New Jersey    34,536
34. Alaska    33,574
35. Minnesota    33,365
36. Louisiana    29,727
37. Iowa    28,697
38. Massachusetts    28,197
39. Wisconsin    27,943
40. Nebraska    25,229
41. Mississippi    22,189
42. West Virginia    17,294
43. Connecticut    15,838
44. South Dakota    11,494
45. North Dakota    11,487
46. Maine    11,054
47. New Hampshire    8,996
48. Delaware    5,613
49. Vermont    4,631
50. Rhode Island    4,351
51. District of Columbia    3,168
     

Country-by-Country Membership Statistics Released for 2022

The Church has released year-end 2022 membership and congregation totals for most nations with a reported Church presence. These statistics can be accessed on Church's official website at https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics. Only Samoa and Russia were omitted from the analysis below because either membership data were not reported for year-end 2021 (Russia) or the Church had not updated its membership figure for 2021 (Samoa) and consequently it is unclear how much membership increased for the year 2022.

Countries with the highest annual membership growth rates for 2022 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, and 2019. 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 2022. Countries in bold experienced a membership increase greater than 200 during 2022

1. Burundi - 50.7% - 1,240
2. Rwanda - 36.9% -1,154
3. Tanzania - 29.9% - 2,999
   
4. Mozambique - 18.6% - 18,443
   
5. Benin - 17.7% - 5,606
6. Republic of the Congo - 16.1% - 11,481
   
7. Iceland - 15.4% - 382
8. Democratic Republic of the Congo - 15.4% - 102,862
9. Turkey - 14.8% - 658
10. Angola - 14.4% - 4,760
11. Liberia - 14.1% - 20,335
    
12. Cameroon - 13.0% - 2,721
    
13. Kazakhstan - 11.7% - 229
14. Namibia - 11.2% - 1,110
15. Sierra Leone - 10.6% - 28,867
16. Bahrain - 10.5% - 252
17. Dominica - 10.3% - 160
    

The following is a list of the top ten countries with the highest negative membership growth rates (i.e., fastest rate of membership decline) during 2022. 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 2022 membership total for the country.

1. Ukraine - -7.8% - 10,344
   
2. Singapore - -2.9% - 3,202
   
3. Isle of Man - -2.4% - 281
   
4. Republic of Georgia - -2.3% - 252
   
5. Federated States of Micronesia - -2.3% - 5,966
   
6. Marshall Islands - -2.1% - 6,832
   
7. Netherlands - -1.9% - 9,185
   
8. Cook Islands - -1.6% - 1,862
   
9. Slovakia - -1.3% - 305
10. Martinique - -1.1% - 258
    

Below is a list of the top ten countries by numerical membership net increase for 2022. 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 2022 that is within that country). Lists are also available for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. A list of the biennial period of 2020-2021 is also available. 65.3% of the 2022 net increase in Church membership can be attributed to the following 10 nations.

1. United States - 41,009 - 20.8%
2. Philippines - 20,209 - 10.3%
3. Brazil - 16,283 - 8.3%
4. Democratic Republic of the Congo - 13,726 - 7.0% 
5. Nigeria - 9,953 - 5.1%
6. Mexico - 9,424 - 4.8%
7. Peru - 5,530 - 2.8%
8. Ghana - 5,416 - 2.7%
9. Bolivia - 3,699 - 1.9%
10. Ecuador - 3,453 - 1.8%

Below is a list of the top ten countries by numerical membership decrease for the biennial period of 2020-2021. Each country is provided with the numerical national decrease in membership for this two-year period. There were only six countries that experienced a net decreased by 100 or more during 2022.

1. Ukraine - -872
2. Hong Kong - -248
3. Puerto Rico - -230
4. Netherlands - -180
5. Marshall Islands --145
6. Federated States of Micronesia - -141
   

ANALYSIS OF COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY MEMBERSHIP FIGURES FOR 2022

Here is an analysis of these numbers:

First, annual membership growth rates significantly accelerated for many countries where the Church has historically experienced rapid membership growth in comparison to not only during 2020-2021 but also during 2019, 2018, and 2017. This indicates that annual membership growth rates have not only returned to previous levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in many of the nations where the Church usually reports its most rapid growth, but that membership growth rates have actually increased since prior to the pandemic. In 2019, there were only 11 countries where church membership increased by 10% or more during the year (and only 11 in 2018 and 13 in 2017), whereas there were 17 countries where church membership increased by 10% or more during 2022. There were also three countries which had an annual membership growth rate of 20% or more during 2022 (all of which had over 1,000 members by the end of the year), whereas in 2019 there were only two countries that had an annual membership growth rate of more than 20% (and one of these had only 36 members at the end of the year). Even more impressive, there were only two countries with 10,000 or more members in 2019 where the annual membership growth rate was at least 10% during the year (Mozambique and the DR Congo), whereas there were five countries with 10,000 or more members in 2022 that had an annual membership growth rate of 10% or more during the year (Mozambique, the Republic of the Congo, the DR Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone). The last year there were at least five countries with at least 10,000 members when annual membership growth rates exceeded 10% for the year was in 2014 (and the countries where Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, the DR Congo, Cape Verde, and Nigeria). To put this into perspective, there were some years in the 2000s (such as 2007 and 2008) when there were no countries with at least 10,000 membership that had an annual membership growth rate of at least 10%. Moreover, this also marks the first time in 30 years since the Church has achieved an annual membership growth rate of 10% of higher in a country (i.e., the DR Congo) where there are at least 100,000 members (the last time this occurred was in Ecuador in 1992-1993). 

Second, Africa stands out as the world region where the majority of the most rapid membership growth occurs. Of the 17 countries that had an annual membership growth rate of 10% or more, 12 were in Africa. Also, all five countries outside of Africa where Church membership increased by 10% or more have fewer than 1,000 members. In Africa, the countries that have stood as consistent high performers for rapid membership growth rates in the past decade include Angola, Benin, the DR Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. Outside of Africa, there are few countries that regularly have annual membership growth rates of 10% or more (and nearly all of these have very few members), but these nations include Turkey, the Solomon Islands (which experienced stagnant growth in 2022 primarily due to no missionaries assigned to the country), and Tuvalu (which also experienced stagnant growth in 2022, although it is unclear whether this may be because the membership figure was not updated since it is identical for 2021).

Third, membership growth is becoming more equalized among countries in the world than it used to be. In 2008, 77% of membership growth in the worldwide Church occurred just in 10 countries (the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Guatemala, and Colombia). However, only 65% of membership growth in the worldwide Church occurred in the 10 countries with the highest net increases in Church membership during the year 2022. A more distributed membership growth dynamic has been a function of two processes: 1. Countries the most members have experienced decelerating growth and 2. some countries with small to medium size membership are growing at the same rate of more rapidly. For example, the Church in Mexico (country with the second most members) reported its slowest annual membership growth rate (0.63%) in over 70 years in 2022, and the Church in Brazil (country with the third most members) reported one of its slowest membership growth rates ever (1.1%) in 2022.

Fourth, countries with annual membership growth rates of 5.0-9.9% generally follow the same trends as countries with 10% or more annual membership growth. In 2022, there were 16 countries where membership growth increased within this rage of which 11 were in Africa. The countries that were not in Africa included Malta (9.4% annual membership growth rate), Cyprus (9.4%), Israel (8.0%), Montenegro (6.7%), and Guernsey (5.3%) - all of which had fewer than 1,000 members. Most of these nations have previously ranked among countries with the most rapid membership growth rates in the past 15 years, albeit these nations also often have wide fluctuations in growth (including decline). 

Fifth, annual membership growth rates in the United States slightly increased in 2022 compared to recent years. Membership in the United States increased by 0.61% in 2022, whereas the Church reported an increase of 0.62% for the two-year period including 2020 and 2021 (suggesting the annual membership growth rate was likely around 0.30% for these years assuming the rate of growth was constant during that time). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Church reported annual membership growth rates of 0.59% in 2019 and 0.60% in 2018. Annual membership growth rates in the United States remain far below previous years which averaged 1.0-1.5% in the early to mid 2010s and 1.5-2.0% in the 1990s and 2000s. 

Sixth, there were several "anomaly" countries where membership growth trends in 2022 were significantly different than what has been typically seen in recent years. Here are a few of some of the notable examples I found browsing the data. In Spain, the annual membership growth rate (3.37%) was the highest reported by the Church since 2010. This is an impressive development considering the Church in most of Europe experiences essentially stagnant growth (or slight decline). In Kenya, the Church also reported its most rapid membership growth (9.6%) seen since 2010. In Burundi, Church membership increased by approximately 50% - the most rapid growth seen since 2013. In Ukraine, the Church reported a significant decline of 7.8% which was caused primarily by Ukrainian Latter-day Saints leaving the country due to the war. The Church published figures for the number of members in Russia as of year-end 2022 - the first time this has been done since 2017 when there were 23,252 members. However, the Church reported a mere 4,995 members as of year-end 2022. It is unclear whether this may be a reporting error or if this may reflect a mass exodus of Russian Latter-day Saints to other nations. However, this figure may be accurate given scores of congregations have closed in Russia since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In Iceland, membership increased by 15.4% - the highest reported since 2001 (albeit, to put this into perspective, there were only 382 members on the records for Iceland as of year-end 2022).