Areas of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outside US and Canada. Contents
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Areas of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in US and Canada. |
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), an area is an administrative unit that typically is composed of multiple stakes and missions. These areas are the primary church administrative unit between individual stakes or missions and the church as a whole.
The areas as they now exist were formed in January 1984. [1] Prior to that time, general authorities served as "area supervisors" and at times resided outside of Salt Lake City. [2] In 1984, 13 initial areas were created; by 1992 there were 22, and by early 2007 there were 31. As of August 2025, there are 24 areas, 6 in the United States, and 18 worldwide, including the new Canada Area. [3] [4] [5] [6] In conjunction with the move to create a Canada Area, five of the other six North American areas were renamed. The former North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Southwest, and North America West Areas, respectively are now known as the United States Central, United States Northeast, United States Southeast, United States Southwest, and United States West Areas, respectively. [7] [8]
Until 2003, each area had a president and two counselors, all of whom were typically general authorities (area seventies sometimes served as counselors). This three-man body was known as the area presidency. In that year, the church eliminated these presidencies for areas located in the United States and Canada, which were all then placed under the direct supervision of a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, thus freeing more general authorities from specific area assignments. Since these areas were previously administered by area presidencies located at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, the administrative change was not as drastic as it might seem.
In April 2018, the church announced that, effective August 1 of that year, areas in the United States and Canada would once again be supervised by a three-man presidency. This enabled the Presidency of the Seventy to more fully assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in their duties, and to fill other assignments as needed. [9]
The areas outside the United States continue to be governed by area presidencies that are typically composed of general authority seventies and/or area seventies. These presidency members usually reside in a headquarters city located in the geographic boundaries of the area. Area seventies who serve in these presidencies reside in their own homes, which may or may not be in the area headquarters city.
In 2019, church leaders stated that the 10 North American areas would be merged into six (the Idaho Area merged into the North America Central Area; the North America Northwest Area merged into the North America West Area; and the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South areas merged into a single Utah Area. [10]
Also in 2019, a structural change occurred in the administration of the Middle East/Africa North Area. In prior years, two general authorities based at church headquarters were assigned oversight for the area. However, beginning in August 2019, a three-man area presidency was established to oversee the area. Two of them were general authorities at church headquarters, while the second counselor was an area seventy living in the area.
In 2019, church leaders also announced the division of the Africa Southeast Area, into the Africa Central and Africa South areas, effective August 1, 2020. [3] Two months later, W. Christopher Waddell, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, announced in Johannesburg that the new Africa Central Area would be headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. [11]
Then in 2022, additional structural changes affected Europe. The Europe and Europe East areas were split into 3 areas and renamed the Europe Central, Europe East, and Europe North areas. The presidency of the Europe Area became the presidency of the Europe Central Area, with the presidency of the Europe East Area becoming three area seventies. The president and first counselor in the Europe East Area were reassigned to fill the same roles in the Europe North Area, with the second counselor being an area seventy. The area seventy who had been serving as the second counselor in the Europe East Area was designated an assistant to the Europe North Area presidency, specifically overseeing Ukraine and Moldova, which will be separate from a specific area at the current time. [12]
Then, in early December 2024, the First Presidency created a new Canada Area. [6] Subsequently, in mid-April 2025, in conjunction with the announcement of the first Canada Area presidency, it was announced that the area headquarters would be in Calgary, Alberta, with some area functions managed in Toronto, Ontario. [13] [14]
As of August 2025, the church has 18 areas outside and 6 areas inside the United States, for a total of 24 areas. With the changes in the Europe Areas, the church now has five area seventies serving in area presidencies. Area assignments are generally announced sometime after April's general conference and are effective August 1. [15]
Area | Members | Stakes | Districts | Congregations | Missions | Temples | |||
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O | U | A | T | ||||||
Africa Central | 207,648 | 43 | 23 | 602 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
Africa South | 204,063 | 47 | 24 | 533 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
Africa West | 503,555 | 151 | 43 | 1739 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 13 |
Asia | 172,278 | 29 | 21 | 287 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
Asia North [a] | 240,711 | 38 | 17 | 381 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
Brazil | 1,525,436 | 287 | 38 | 2096 | 37 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 24 |
Canada | 205,907 | 53 | 3 | 502 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
Caribbean | 230,596 | 34 | 24 | 373 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Central America | 842,351 | 133 | 27 | 1113 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
Europe Central | 231,566 | 61 | 11 | 694 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Europe East | 22,823 | 3 | 4 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Europe North | 295,021 | 66 | 9 | 598 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
Middle East/ Africa North [a] | 3,496 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Mexico | 1,534,058 | 230 | 43 | 1878 | 34 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
United States Central [b] | 1,075,626 | 279 | 0 | 2589 | 18 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 33 |
United States Northeast [b] | 589,085 | 129 | 2 | 1138 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 19 |
United States Southeast [b] | 645,094 | 127 | 0 | 1158 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 18 |
United States Southwest [b] | 1,143,351 | 267 | 2 | 2226 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 27 |
United States West [b] | 1,271,665 | 267 | 0 | 2082 | 29 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 28 |
Pacific | 597,413 | 140 | 27 | 1262 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
Philippines | 882,461 | 131 | 56 | 1324 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
South America Northwest | 1,541,074 | 256 | 47 | 1911 | 37 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 21 |
South America South | 1,316,514 | 188 | 46 | 1572 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
Utah [b] | 2,205,134 | 640 | 6 | 5386 | 13 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 32 |
Temples
O=Operating Temples (includes temporary closures)
U=Temples Under Construction
A=Temples publicly announced to be constructed
T=Total Temples (announced and under construction)
The following details are current as of August 1, 2025, and are taken from the LDS Church Growth Blog, statistical profiles on cumorah.com, and the Facts and Statistics page of the church's official website (www.churchofjesuschrist.org). Ward and branch totals and membership numbers were last updated (with some approximations as noted in the previous section) in 2025.
Africa Central163,345 Members, 35 Stakes, 20 Districts, 454 Congregations, 15 Missions, 5 Temples [16] | ||
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Africa SouthHeadquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa 165,935 Members, 36 Stakes, 25 Districts, 470 Congregations, 13 Missions, 6 Temples [16] | ||
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Second counselor: Vaiangina Sikahema [17] [18] | ||
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Africa West447,186 Members, 134 Stakes, 44 Districts, 990 wards, 606 branches, 25 missions, 9 temples [20] | ||
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AsiaHeadquarters: Hong Kong, China 184,136 Members, 35 Stakes, 34 Districts, 409 Congregations, 12 Missions, 9 Temples [16] | ||
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Asia North241,297 Members, 38 Stakes, 19 Districts, 385 Congregations, 12 Missions, 7 Temples [16] | ||
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BrazilHeadquarters: São Paulo, Brazil 1,472,521 Members, 281 Stakes, 40 Districts, 2,176 Congregations, 37 Missions, 20 Temples [16] | ||
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CanadaHeadquarters: Calgary, Alberta & Toronto, Ontario [26] 205,907 Members, 53 Stakes,39 Districts, 592 Congregations, 6 Missions, 10 Temples | ||
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Central AmericaHeadquarters: Guatemala City, Guatemala 822,262 Members, 133 Stakes, 28 Districts, 1,101 Congregations, 19 Missions, 12 Temples [16] | ||
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Eurasian9,491 Members, 3 Stakes, 9 Districts, 82 Congregations, 6 Missions, 1 Temples [16] [28] | ||
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Area president: Aleksandr A. Drachyov (Area Seventy) [7] [8] | First counselor: Nikolai Ustyuzhaninov (Area Seventy) [7] [8] [29] | Second counselor: Vladimir N. Astashov (Area Seventy) [7] [8] [30] |
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Europe CentralHeadquarters: Frankfurt, Germany 223,324 Members, 64 Stakes, 11 Districts, 694 Congregations, 17 Missions, 12 Temples [16] | ||
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Europe North292,944 Members, 69 Stakes, 10 Districts, 608 Congregations, 15 Missions, 10 Temples [16] | ||
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MexicoHeadquarters: Mexico City, Mexico 1,507,720 Members, 227 Stakes, 47 Districts, 1,863 Congregations, 32 Missions, 23 Temples [38] | ||
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Middle East/ Africa NorthHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 5,457 Members, 2 Stakes, 2 Districts, 33 Congregations, 0 Missions, 1 Temples [16] [39] | ||
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PhilippinesHeadquarters: Quezon City, Philippines 853,254 Members, 125 Stakes, 55 Districts, 1,272 Congregations, 23 Missions, 12 Temples [40] | ||
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South America Northwest1,327,350 Members, 217 Stakes, 40 Districts, 1,625 Congregations, 33 Missions, 15 Temples [16] | ||
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South America SouthHeadquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina 1,284,696 Members, 181 Stakes, 54 Districts, 1,560 Congregations, 29 Missions, 12 Temples [16] | ||
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United States NortheastHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 643,071 Members, 141 Stakes, 5 Districts, 1,300 Congregations, 17 missions, 18 Temples [16] [41] | ||
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United States SoutheastHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 618,465 Members, 127 Stakes, 1,153 Congregations, 16 Missions, 16 Temples [16] [41] | ||
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UtahHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 2,173,560 Members, 629 Stakes, 2 Districts, 5,412 Congregations, 13 Missions, 28 Temples [16] [41] | ||
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Utah; Arizona (small portion); Idaho (small portion); Nevada (small portion); Wyoming (southwest corner) |