The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership history
Through its final edition, which was published for 2013, the Deseret Morning News Church Almanac gave information on historical membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The church's reported membership as of December 31, 2019 was 16,565,036.[1] The growth of 1.21% in 2018 was the lowest annual percentage growth since the 0.93% in 1937. Though a relative slowing of the growth rate continues, although it slightly increased in 2019, church membership growth continues to outpace the world population growth rate, which is currently around 1.05% in 2020.[2] Reports of rising membership, however, have been called into question.[3][4]
Membership defined
The LDS Church defines membership as:[5]
- Those who have been baptized and confirmed.
- Those under age nine who have been blessed but not baptized.
- Those who are born to members but are not accountable because of intellectual disabilities, regardless of age.
- Unblessed children under age eight when:
- Two member parents request it.
- One member parent requests it and the nonmember parent gives permission.
Growth and demographic history
The records of the LDS Church show membership growth every decade since its beginning in the 1830s. Following initial growth rates that averaged 10% to 25% per year in the 1830s through 1850s, it grew at about 4% per year through the last four decades of the 19th century. After a steady slowing of growth in the first four decades of the 20th century to a rate of about 2% per year in the 1930s (the Great Depression years), growth boomed to an average of 6% per year for the decade around 1960, staying around 4% to 5% through 1990. After 1990, average annual growth again slowed steadily to a rate around 2.2% for the ten years ending 2015, approximately double the average world population growth rate of 1.1% for the same period. The growth rate has not been greater than 3% per year in the 21st century and has declined steadily since 2012. The rate has not been above 2% since 2013. In May 2019, however, Phil Zuckerman, Ph.D., of Psychology Today expressed skepticism of how the Mormon Church reports growth in membership, noting that while church membership was reported to be rising, separate analysis conducted by journalist Jana Riess showed that reports of Mormon retention, religious participation, teachings and belief have been declining since 2007.[3] By 2019, Mormons represented 51% of the population in their longtime stronghold of Utah, in contrast with 75% in 2000.[3]
Riess made her research public in her book The Next Mormons.[3][4] Brigham Young University book reviewer Stephen Cranny stated in his review of The Next Mormons that the book "fill[s] the need for a large, representative Latter-day Saint sample."[4] Cranny also stated that "Media outlets and others will occasionally perform one-off surveys that gather Latter-day Saint responses to specific (often political) issues, but generally social scientists, the media, and the public are flying in the dark when it comes to finding representative numbers about Latter-day Saint attitudes and beliefs. Furthermore, the few surveys that do have large numbers of Latter-day Saints (such as the American Religious Identification Survey or the Pew Religious Landscape Surveys) are generic religion surveys, so questions do not reflect concerns, language, or concepts specific to Latter-day Saints."[4]
LDS Church membership numbers
LDS Church Growth From 1829 to 1860
Table for recent growth
World population numbers as of April 5, 2020.[6]
| Year | LDS Church growth rate | World growth rate | Growth rate difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 5.35% | 1.70% | 3.65% |
| 1981 | 6.05% | 1.75% | 4.30% |
| 1982 | 4.92% | 1.76% | 3.16% |
| 1983 | 3.66% | 1.70% | 1.96% |
| 1984 | 5.41% | 1.69% | 3.72% |
| 1985 | 4.94% | 1.71% | 3.23% |
| 1986 | 4.18% | 1.74% | 2.44% |
| 1987 | 3.69% | 1.72% | 1.97% |
| 1988 | 5.11% | 1.69% | 3.42% |
| 1989 | 8.74% | 1.68% | 7.06% |
| 1990 | 6.19% | 1.57% | 4.62% |
| 1991 | 4.23% | 1.55% | 2.68% |
| 1992 | 3.88% | 1.50% | 2.38% |
| 1993 | 3.39% | 1.45% | 1.94% |
| 1994 | 3.86% | 1.44% | 2.42% |
| 1995 | 3.48% | 1.41% | 2.07% |
| 1996 | 3.79% | 1.38% | 2.41% |
| 1997 | 3.91% | 1.34% | 2.57% |
| 1998 | 2.80% | 1.31% | 1.49% |
| 1999 | 3.85% | 1.28% | 2.57% |
| 2000 | 2.94% | 1.26% | 1.68% |
| 2001 | 2.94% | 1.23% | 1.71% |
| 2002 | 2.87% | 1.21% | 1.66% |
| 2003 | 2.25% | 1.21% | 1.04% |
| 2004 | 2.42% | 1.20% | 1.22% |
| 2005 | 2.32% | 1.19% | 1.13% |
| 2006 | 2.45% | 1.18% | 1.27% |
| 2007 | 2.52% | 1.18% | 1.34% |
| 2008 | 2.38% | 1.17% | 1.21% |
| 2009 | 2.34% | 1.15% | 1.19% |
| 2010 | 2.22% | 1.13% | 1.09% |
| 2011 | 2.19% | 1.11% | 1.08% |
| 2012 | 2.31% | 1.11% | 1.20% |
| 2013 | 2.03% | 1.09% | 0.94% |
| 2014 | 1.92% | 1.08% | 0.84% |
| 2015 | 1.70% | 1.19%[2] | 0.51% |
| 2016 | 1.59% | 1.14%[2] | 0.45% |
| 2017 | 1.47% | 1.12% | 0.35% |
| 2018 | 1.21% | 1.09% | 0.12% |
| 2019 | 1.54% | 1.08% | 0.46% |
Table for LDS Church membership numbers
| Year | Membership | Number change | Percentage growth | Average % growth
(starting 1860 on) |
7-Year Average
(3 years either side) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1829 | 6 | 6 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| 1830 | 280 | 274 | 4566.67% | N/A | N/A |
| 1831 | 680 | 400 | 142.86% | N/A | N/A |
| 1832 | 2,661 | 1,981 | 291.32% | N/A | N/A |
| 1833 | 3,140 | 479 | 18.00% | N/A | N/A |
| 1834 | 4,372 | 1,232 | 39.24% | N/A | N/A |
| 1835 | 8,835 | 4,463 | 102.08% | N/A | N/A |
| 1836 | 13,293 | 4,458 | 50.46% | N/A | N/A |
| 1837 | 16,282 | 2,989 | 22.49% | N/A | N/A |
| 1838 | 17,881 | 1,599 | 9.82% | N/A | N/A |
| 1839 | 16,460 | -1,421 | -7.95% | N/A | N/A |
| 1840 | 16,865 | 405 | 2.46% | N/A | N/A |
| 1841 | 19,856 | 2,991 | 17.73% | N/A | N/A |
| 1842 | 23,564 | 3,708 | 18.67% | N/A | N/A |
| 1843 | 25,980 | 2,416 | 10.25% | N/A | N/A |
| 1844 | 26,146 | 166 | 0.64% | N/A | N/A |
| 1845 | 30,332 | 4,186 | 16.01% | N/A | N/A |
| 1846 | 33,993 | 3,661 | 12.07% | N/A | N/A |
| 1847 | 34,694 | 701 | 2.06% | N/A | N/A |
| 1848 | 40,477 | 5,783 | 16.67% | N/A | N/A |
| 1849 | 48,160 | 7,683 | 18.98% | N/A | N/A |
| 1850 | 51,839 | 3,679 | 7.64% | N/A | N/A |
| 1851 | 52,165 | 326 | 0.63% | N/A | N/A |
| 1852 | 52,640 | 475 | 0.91% | N/A | N/A |
| 1853 | 64,154 | 11,514 | 21.87% | N/A | N/A |
| 1854 | 68,429 | 4,275 | 6.66% | N/A | N/A |
| 1855 | 63,974 | -4,455 | -6.51% | N/A | N/A |
| 1856 | 63,881 | -93 | -0.15% | N/A | N/A |
| 1857 | 55,236 | -8,645 | -13.53% | N/A | N/A |
| 1858 | 55,755 | 519 | 0.94% | N/A | N/A |
| 1859 | 57,038 | 1,283 | 2.30% | N/A | N/A |
| 1860 | 61,082 | 4,044 | 7.09% | 7.09% | 1.92% |
| 1861 | 66,211 | 5,129 | 8.40% | 7.75% | 4.36% |
| 1862 | 68,780 | 2,569 | 3.88% | 6.46% | 4.70% |
| 1863 | 71,770 | 2,990 | 4.35% | 5.93% | 4.57% |
| 1864 | 74,348 | 2,578 | 3.59% | 5.46% | 4.16% |
| 1865 | 76,771 | 2,423 | 3.26% | 5.10% | 3.57% |
| 1866 | 77,884 | 1,113 | 1.45% | 4.57% | 3.66% |
| 1867 | 81,124 | 3,240 | 4.16% | 4.52% | 3.31% |
| 1868 | 84,622 | 3,498 | 4.31% | 4.50% | 3.67% |
| 1869 | 88,432 | 3,810 | 4.50% | 4.50% | 3.58% |
| 1870 | 90,130 | 1,698 | 1.92% | 4.26% | 3.87% |
| 1871 | 95,596 | 5,466 | 6.06% | 4.41% | 3.61% |
| 1872 | 98,152 | 2,556 | 2.67% | 4.28% | 3.44% |
| 1873 | 101,538 | 3,386 | 3.45% | 4.22% | 3.32% |
| 1874 | 103,916 | 2,378 | 2.34% | 4.10% | 3.56% |
| 1875 | 107,167 | 3,251 | 3.13% | 4.04% | 3.93% |
| 1876 | 111,111 | 3,944 | 3.68% | 4.01% | 3.93% |
| 1877 | 115,065 | 3,954 | 3.56% | 3.99% | 4.02% |
| 1878 | 125,046 | 9,981 | 8.67% | 4.24% | 4.44% |
| 1879 | 128,386 | 3,340 | 2.67% | 4.16% | 4.49% |
| 1880 | 133,628 | 5,242 | 4.08% | 4.15% | 4.55% |
| 1881 | 140,733 | 7,105 | 5.32% | 4.21% | 4.67% |
| 1882 | 145,604 | 4,871 | 3.46% | 4.17% | 3.96% |
| 1883 | 151,593 | 5,989 | 4.11% | 4.17% | 3.80% |
| 1884 | 158,242 | 6,649 | 4.39% | 4.18% | 3.77% |
| 1885 | 164,130 | 5,888 | 3.72% | 4.16% | 3.61% |
| 1886 | 166,653 | 2,523 | 1.54% | 4.07% | 3.34% |
| 1887 | 173,029 | 6,376 | 3.83% | 4.06% | 3.15% |
| 1888 | 180,294 | 7,265 | 4.20% | 4.06% | 3.07% |
| 1889 | 183,144 | 2,850 | 1.58% | 3.98% | 2.94% |
| 1890 | 188,263 | 5,119 | 2.80% | 3.94% | 3.68% |
| 1891 | 195,445 | 7,182 | 3.81% | 3.94% | 3.66% |
| 1892 | 200,961 | 5,516 | 2.82% | 3.90% | 3.62% |
| 1893 | 214,534 | 13,573 | 6.75% | 3.99% | 4.03% |
| 1894 | 222,369 | 7,835 | 3.65% | 3.98% | 4.48% |
| 1895 | 231,116 | 8,747 | 3.93% | 3.98% | 4.58% |
| 1896 | 241,427 | 10,311 | 4.46% | 3.99% | 4.41% |
| 1897 | 255,736 | 14,309 | 5.93% | 4.04% | 4.08% |
| 1898 | 267,251 | 11,515 | 4.50% | 4.05% | 4.02% |
| 1899 | 271,681 | 4,430 | 1.66% | 3.99% | 3.76% |
| 1900 | 283,765 | 12,084 | 4.45% | 4.00% | 3.40% |
| 1901 | 292,931 | 9,166 | 3.23% | 3.98% | 3.46% |
| 1902 | 299,105 | 6,174 | 2.11% | 3.94% | 3.16% |
| 1903 | 304,901 | 5,796 | 1.94% | 3.90% | 3.48% |
| 1904 | 324,289 | 19,388 | 6.36% | 3.95% | 3.38% |
| 1905 | 332,048 | 7,759 | 2.39% | 3.92% | 3.46% |
| 1906 | 345,014 | 12,966 | 3.90% | 3.92% | 3.38% |
| 1907 | 357,913 | 12,899 | 3.74% | 3.91% | 3.91% |
| 1908 | 371,472 | 13,559 | 3.79% | 3.91% | 3.32% |
| 1909 | 377,279 | 5,807 | 1.56% | 3.86% | 3.33% |
| 1910 | 398,478 | 21,199 | 5.62% | 3.90% | 3.26% |
| 1911 | 407,291 | 8,813 | 2.21% | 3.87% | 3.49% |
| 1912 | 417,555 | 10,264 | 2.52% | 3.84% | 3.31% |
| 1913 | 431,607 | 14,052 | 3.37% | 3.83% | 3.43% |
| 1914 | 454,718 | 23,111 | 5.35% | 3.86% | 2.94% |
| 1915 | 466,238 | 11,520 | 2.53% | 3.83% | 2.86% |
| 1916 | 477,321 | 11,083 | 2.38% | 3.81% | 2.85% |
| 1917 | 488,038 | 10,717 | 2.25% | 3.78% | 2.87% |
| 1918 | 495,962 | 7,924 | 1.62% | 3.75% | 2.73% |
| 1919 | 507,961 | 11,999 | 2.42% | 3.72% | 2.82% |
| 1920 | 525,987 | 18,026 | 3.55% | 3.72% | 2.72% |
| 1921 | 548,803 | 22,816 | 4.34% | 3.73% | 2.95% |
| 1922 | 566,358 | 17,555 | 3.20% | 3.72% | 3.09% |
| 1923 | 575,896 | 9,538 | 1.68% | 3.69% | 2.98% |
| 1924 | 597,861 | 21,965 | 3.81% | 3.69% | 2.95% |
| 1925 | 613,572 | 15,711 | 2.63% | 3.68% | 2.58% |
| 1926 | 623,909 | 10,337 | 1.68% | 3.65% | 2.29% |
| 1927 | 644,745 | 20,836 | 3.34% | 3.64% | 2.19% |
| 1928 | 655,686 | 10,941 | 1.70% | 3.61% | 2.04% |
| 1929 | 663,652 | 7,966 | 1.21% | 3.58% | 1.98% |
| 1930 | 670,017 | 6,365 | 0.96% | 3.54% | 2.02% |
| 1931 | 688,435 | 18,418 | 2.75% | 3.53% | 1.81% |
| 1932 | 703,949 | 15,514 | 2.25% | 3.51% | 1.87% |
| 1933 | 717,619 | 13,670 | 1.94% | 3.49% | 1.97% |
| 1934 | 730,738 | 13,119 | 1.83% | 3.47% | 1.97% |
| 1935 | 746,384 | 15,646 | 2.14% | 3.45% | 1.89% |
| 1936 | 760,690 | 14,306 | 1.92% | 3.43% | 1.91% |
| 1937 | 767,752 | 7,062 | 0.93% | 3.40% | 2.68% |
| 1938 | 784,764 | 17,012 | 2.22% | 3.39% | 2.91% |
| 1939 | 803,528 | 18,764 | 2.39% | 3.37% | 3.01% |
| 1940 | 862,664 | 59,136 | 7.36% | 3.42% | 3.04% |
| 1941 | 892,080 | 29,416 | 3.41% | 3.42% | 3.17% |
| 1942 | 917,715 | 25,635 | 2.87% | 3.42% | 3.23% |
| 1943 | 937,050 | 19,335 | 2.11% | 3.40% | 3.14% |
| 1944 | 954,004 | 16,954 | 1.81% | 3.38% | 2.37% |
| 1945 | 979,454 | 25,450 | 2.67% | 3.37% | 2.24% |
| 1946 | 996,505 | 17,051 | 1.74% | 3.35% | 2.34% |
| 1947 | 1,016,170 | 19,665 | 1.97% | 3.34% | 2.47% |
| 1948 | 1,041,970 | 25,800 | 2.54% | 3.33% | 2.67% |
| 1949 | 1,078,671 | 36,701 | 3.52% | 3.33% | 2.81% |
| 1950 | 1,111,314 | 32,643 | 3.03% | 3.33% | 3.25% |
| 1951 | 1,147,157 | 35,843 | 3.23% | 3.33% | 3.61% |
| 1952 | 1,189,053 | 41,896 | 3.65% | 3.33% | 3.85% |
| 1953 | 1,246,362 | 57,309 | 4.82% | 3.35% | 3.97% |
| 1954 | 1,302,240 | 55,878 | 4.48% | 3.36% | 4.26% |
| 1955 | 1,357,274 | 55,034 | 4.23% | 3.37% | 4.45% |
| 1956 | 1,416,731 | 59,457 | 4.38% | 3.38% | 4.48% |
| 1957 | 1,488,314 | 71,583 | 5.05% | 3.40% | 4.47% |
| 1958 | 1,555,799 | 67,485 | 4.53% | 3.41% | 4.94% |
| 1959 | 1,616,088 | 60,289 | 3.88% | 3.41% | 5.44% |
| 1960 | 1,693,180 | 77,092 | 4.77% | 3.43% | 5.92% |
| 1961 | 1,823,661 | 130,481 | 7.71% | 3.47% | 5.99% |
| 1962 | 1,965,786 | 142,125 | 7.79% | 3.51% | 6.37% |
| 1963 | 2,117,451 | 151,665 | 7.72% | 3.55% | 6.33% |
| 1964 | 2,234,916 | 117,465 | 5.55% | 3.57% | 6.41% |
| 1965 | 2,395,932 | 161,016 | 7.20% | 3.60% | 5.69% |
| 1966 | 2,480,899 | 84,967 | 3.55% | 3.60% | 5.24% |
| 1967 | 2,614,340 | 133,441 | 5.38% | 3.62% | 4.76% |
| 1968 | 2,684,073 | 69,733 | 2.67% | 3.61% | 4.75% |
| 1969 | 2,807,456 | 123,383 | 4.60% | 3.62% | 4.31% |
| 1970 | 2,930,810 | 123,354 | 4.39% | 3.63% | 4.20% |
| 1971 | 3,090,953 | 160,143 | 5.46% | 3.64% | 3.87% |
| 1972 | 3,218,908 | 127,955 | 4.14% | 3.65% | 4.17% |
| 1973 | 3,306,658 | 87,750 | 2.73% | 3.64% | 4.20% |
| 1974 | 3,409,987 | 103,329 | 3.12% | 3.63% | 4.43% |
| 1975 | 3,572,202 | 162,215 | 4.76% | 3.64% | 4.36% |
| 1976 | 3,742,749 | 170,547 | 4.77% | 3.65% | 4.59% |
| 1977 | 3,969,220 | 226,471 | 6.05% | 3.67% | 4.96% |
| 1978 | 4,166,854 | 197,634 | 4.98% | 3.68% | 5.38% |
| 1979 | 4,404,121 | 237,267 | 5.69% | 3.70% | 5.40% |
| 1980 | 4,639,822 | 235,701 | 5.35% | 3.72% | 5.24% |
| 1981 | 4,920,449 | 280,627 | 6.05% | 3.73% | 5.15% |
| 1982 | 5,162,619 | 242,170 | 4.92% | 3.74% | 5.15% |
| 1983 | 5,351,724 | 189,105 | 3.66% | 3.74% | 4.93% |
| 1984 | 5,641,054 | 289,330 | 5.41% | 3.76% | 4.69% |
| 1985 | 5,919,483 | 278,429 | 4.94% | 3.77% | 4.56% |
| 1986 | 6,166,974 | 247,491 | 4.18% | 3.77% | 5.10% |
| 1987 | 6,394,314 | 227,340 | 3.69% | 3.77% | 5.47% |
| 1988 | 6,721,210 | 326,896 | 5.11% | 3.78% | 5.30% |
| 1989 | 7,308,444 | 587,234 | 8.74% | 3.82% | 5.15% |
| 1990 | 7,761,179 | 452,735 | 6.19% | 3.84% | 5.03% |
| 1991 | 8,089,848 | 328,669 | 4.23% | 3.84% | 5.06% |
| 1992 | 8,404,087 | 314,239 | 3.88% | 3.84% | 4.82% |
| 1993 | 8,689,168 | 285,081 | 3.39% | 3.84% | 4.12% |
| 1994 | 9,024,368 | 335,200 | 3.86% | 3.84% | 3.79% |
| 1995 | 9,338,859 | 314,491 | 3.48% | 3.83% | 3.59% |
| 1996 | 9,692,441 | 353,582 | 3.79% | 3.83% | 3.58% |
| 1997 | 10,071,783 | 379,342 | 3.91% | 3.83% | 3.52% |
| 1998 | 10,354,241 | 282,458 | 2.80% | 3.83% | 3.39% |
| 1999 | 10,752,986 | 398,745 | 3.85% | 3.83% | 3.30% |
| 2000 | 11,068,861 | 315,875 | 2.94% | 3.82% | 3.08% |
| 2001 | 11,394,522 | 325,661 | 2.94% | 3.81% | 2.87% |
| 2002 | 11,721,548 | 327,026 | 2.87% | 3.81% | 2.80% |
| 2003 | 11,985,254 | 263,706 | 2.25% | 3.80% | 2.60% |
| 2004 | 12,275,822 | 290,568 | 2.42% | 3.79% | 2.54% |
| 2005 | 12,560,869 | 285,047 | 2.32% | 3.78% | 2.46% |
| 2006 | 12,868,606 | 307,737 | 2.45% | 3.77% | 2.38% |
| 2007 | 13,193,999 | 325,393 | 2.53% | 3.76% | 2.38% |
| 2008 | 13,508,509 | 314,510 | 2.38% | 3.75% | 2.35% |
| 2009 | 13,824,854 | 316,345 | 2.34% | 3.74% | 2.35% |
| 2010 | 14,131,467 | 306,613 | 2.22% | 3.73% | 2.29% |
| 2011 | 14,441,346 | 309,879 | 2.19% | 3.72% | 2.20% |
| 2012 | 14,782,473 | 341,127 | 2.31% | 3.71% | 2.10% |
| 2013 | 15,082,028 | 299,555 | 2.03% | 3.70% | 1.99% |
| 2014 | 15,372,337[7] | 290,309 | 1.92% | 3.69% | 1.89% |
| 2015 | 15,634,199[8] | 261,862 | 1.70% | 3.68% | 1.75% |
| 2016 | 15,882,417[9] | 248,218 | 1.59% | 3.66% | 1.64% |
| 2017 | 16,118,169[10] | 235,752 | 1.47% | 3.65% | |
| 2018 | 16,313,735[11] | 195,566 | 1.21% | 3.63% | |
| 2019 | 16,565,036[12] | 251,301 | 1.54% | 3.62% |
See also
References
- "2019 Statistical Report for 2020 April Conference". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Newsroom. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- "Current World Population". April 5, 2020.
- Zuckerman, Phil (May 6, 2019). "Secularization Hits the Mormons". Psychology Today. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/next-mormons-how-millennials-are-changing-lds-church
- "Membership record". LDSTech Wiki. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- {{cite web |url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population
- "2015 Statistical Report for April 2016 General Conference", Mormon Newsroom, April 2, 2016.
- "LDS Church membership grows to 15.6 million people". April 2, 2016.
- "2016 Statistical Report for 2017 April Conference". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Newsroom. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- "2017 Statistical Report for 2018 April Conference". www.mormonnewsroom.org. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
- "2018 Statistical Report for 2019 April Conference". Mormon Newsroom. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
- "2019 Statistical Report for 2020 April Conference". Mormon Newsroom. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
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