Growth in the Institutions of the Bahá'í Faith
| 1954 | 1963 | 1968 | 1973 | 1979 | 1988 | 1994 |
National Spiritual Assemblies | 12 | 56 | 81 | 113 | 125 | 149 | 172 |
Local Spiritual Assemblies | 708 | 3,379 | 5,902 | 17,037 | 23,634 | 19,486 | 17,780 |
Localities where Bahá'ís reside | 3,117 | 11,092 | 31,883 | 69,541 | 102,704 | 112,137 | 119,276 |
NOTES: Figures taken from P. Smith and M. Momen, "The Bahá'í Faith
1957-1988", p. 70 and The Bahá'í World, 1994-5, p. 317. The drop in
the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies between 1979 and 1988 is
accounted for by a major reorganization in 1987 in India where the area
for each Local Spiritual Assembly was increased to cover more than one
village. The result was a drop in the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies
in India from 15,448 to 4,497. There have since been similar
re-organizations in other countries.
Encyclopedia Britannica Year-Book statistics for the Bahá'í Faith, 1997
The Encyclopedia Britannica Year-Book for 1997 has produced the
following statistics for the Bahá'í Faith: |
Africa | 1,923,000 |
Asia | 3,230,000 |
Europe | 95,000 |
Latin America | 722,000 |
North America | 357,000 |
Oceania | 77,000 |
Total for World | 6,404,000 |
Countries | 210 |
Some Other (older) Statistics
Total number of Bahá'ís worldwide | more than 5,000,000 |
Number of independent countries where the Faith is established | 187 |
Dependent territories or overseas departments where the Faith is established | 45
| Number of national or regional governing councils (known as National Spiritual Assemblies) | 165 |
Number of local governing bodies (local Spiritual Assemblies) | 18,232 |
Number of localities worldwide where Bahá'ís reside | more than 116,000 |
Tribes, races and ethnic groups whose members are represented in the Bahá'í world community | more than 2,100 |
Languages into which Bahá'u'lláh's writings have been translated | 800 |
Publishing Trusts | 26 |
Radio stations | 7 |
Schools | 741 |
Literacy programs | 203 |
Other development projects | 670 |
|