
The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...
(LDS Church) releases membership, congregational, and related information on a regular basis. The latest membership information the church releases includes a count of membership, stakes, wards, branches, missions, temples, and FamilySearch Centers for the worldwide church and for individual countries and territories where the church is recognized. The latest information released was as of December 31, 2024.
At the end of 2024, the LDS Church had 31,676 congregations and a reported membership of 17,509,781.
Membership defined
The LDS Church defines membership as a count of living individuals who:
# have been baptized and confirmed.
# are under age nine and have been blessed but not baptized.
# are not accountable because of intellectual disabilities, regardless of age.
# are unblessed children under age eight when:
#* two member parents request it; or
#* one member parent requests it and the nonmember parent gives permission.
After baptism, blessing, or parental request stated above, membership must be recorded and maintained by the church to have and keep membership.
Membership considerations
In 2005,
Peggy Fletcher Stack, longtime religion columnist for ''
The Salt Lake Tribune
''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871."
History ...
'', estimated that about one-third of the reported LDS membership was "active" (i.e., regularly attending church services and participating in other expected meetings and obligations). In 2005, this would have amounted to approximately 4 million active members among a worldwide LDS population of 12 million. Active membership varied from a high of 40 to 50 percent in congregations in North America and the Pacific Islands, to a low of about 25 percent in Latin America. Fletcher Stack's data was compiled from several sources, including a 2001 survey of religious affiliation by scholars at
City University of New York
The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
and a demographer at LDS-owned
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
.
In 2003, church leader
Dallin H. Oaks, noted that among recent converts "attrition is sharpest in the two months after baptism", which he attributed in part to difficulties adapting to the church's dietary code, the
Word of Wisdom, that prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea. In 2001, sociologist
Armand Mauss estimated that about 50 percent of LDS converts in the US stopped attending church within a year of baptism, while outside the US the rate was about 70 percent.
[Stacy Willis (2001)]
Mormon Church is funding its future
The Las Vegas Sun; accessed 20 December 2017
Countries
The tables on this section represents Latter-day Saint membership, as reported by the Church, as of December 31, 2023.
Except where indicated, general population figures are based on the latest
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
estimates (primarily for 2024).
Percentages of LDS members were calculated with this information. The link under the names of each country, territory, etc. corresponds to brief LDS history and statistical information for that particular area.
Congregations
;Notes
: *There are several areas that cover the US and Canada. This includes North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Southwest, North America West, and Utah areas. Bermuda is in the North America Northeast area.
: **Ukraine and Moldova are the only countries not assigned to an area and are administered by an authority in the Europe North Area.
Members and growth
: *There are several areas that cover the US and Canada. This includes North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Southwest, North America West, and Utah areas. Bermuda is in the North America Northeast area.
: **Ukraine and Moldova are the only countries not assigned to an area and are administered by an authority in the Europe North Area.
Distribution maps
Membership
Percent members
Congregations
Areas
Temples
See also
*
*
Membership statistics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (United States).
*
.
*
Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
*
Mormonism
Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...
References
External links
*
WorldmapperLDS Church Almanac
{{Latter-day Saints
Religious demographics
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by continent
Membership statistics