Updated Country Profile - Tuvalu

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Tuvalu. With a mere 11,000 inhabitants, Tuvalu has had a Church presence since 1985 and is assigned to the Fiji Suva Mission. Moderate membership growth has occurred since the late 2000s as Church membership increased from 131 in 2008 to 268 in 2018. Also, there were eleven young adults who served full-time missions at the same time from the only branch in the country as of the mid-2010s. See below for the Future Prospects section of the article:

Moderate membership growth since the late 2000s and a significant increase in the number of young adults who serve full-time missions are positive developments that may indicate a breakthrough reaching the Tuvaluan population. Time will tell whether new converts and returned missionaries will remain active, increased membership growth will be sustained, and additional congregations will be organized as greater numbers of local priesthood leaders are trained. Restricting the number of full-time missionaries to a single companionship may be in the best interests of maintaining local member involvement in missionary work and leadership until additional congregations are organized.

108th Book of Mormon Translation in Slovak; Church Growth Developments in the Pacific

The Book of Mormon translated into Slovak

Missionaries report that the Slovak translation of the Book of Mormon has been completed. It is unclear when the translation will be available for distribution, but this marks the first LDS scripture ever translated into the Slovak language and a major development in missionary outreach in this lesser reached European nation. At the end of 2009, there were fewer than 200 members meeting in four branches at least one group. Legal status for the Church was recently obtained. For additional information about the Church in Slovakia and its prospects there, please refer to the Slovakia country profile on cumorah.com.

Full-time missionaries assigned to Tuvalu

For the first time in several years, full-time missionaries have been assigned to work on the small Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. With less than 13,000 inhabitants, Tuvalu has one LDS branch and 134 Latter-day Saints. Initial missionary reports indicate that there are around 65 attending meetings, many of which are not baptized members. The sole companionship assigned to the islands is learning the Tuvaluan language. Compared to other Pacific islands, few have joined the Church. There were 57 Tuvaluans who self-identified as Latter-day Saints on the New Zealand census in 2006. There are no LDS scriptures and only a handful of church materials in Tuavluan.

Second branch created on Christmas Island (Kirimati)

A second branch has been created on remote Christmas Island in eastern Kiribati. The Banana Branch has functioned as a group for at least a couple years under the Christmas Island Branch. A third branch operates just north of the island on Fanning Island. There are around 5,000 inhabitants on Christmas Island. For more information about the Church in Kiribati, please refer to the cumorah.com country profile.