Bahá’í World/Volume 24/Statistics
STATISTICS[edit]
General Statistics[edit]
Worldwide Bahá’í population
Countries/dependent territories where the Bahá’í Faith is established More than 5 million 190 countries/ 45 territories
Continental Counsellors 81
Auxiliary Board members serving throughout the world 990
National/Regional Spiritual Assemblies 174
Local Spiritual Assemblies 17,148
Localities where Bahá’ís reside 121,058
Tribes, races and ethnic groups 2,112 represented in the Bahá’í community
Languages into which Bahá’u’lláh’s writings have been translated 802
Bahá’í Publishing Trusts 30
All statistics as of May 1995
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Geographic distribution of Local Spiritual Assemblies by continent[edit]
Americas 4515- -Africa 4828 Europe 950 Australasia 901 Asia 59541
Growth in the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside[edit]
120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000
1954
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
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STATISTICS[edit]
Growth in the number of National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies
Social and Economic Development[edit]
Bahá’í development activities are initiated either by Bahá’í administrative institutions or by individuals or groups of believers. Together, these activities contribute to a global process of learning about a Bahá’í approach to social and economic development. They presently fall into three general categories.
Grassroots Activity[edit]
Most Bahá’í social and economic development efforts are attempts by Bahá’ís in villages and towns around the world to address the problems and challenges faced by their localities through the application of spiritual principles enshrined in the Bahá’i Teachings. They may begin in the Bahá’í community or as support of Bahá’ís for the development initiatives of other organizations, but all extend their benefits to the well-being of the society as a whole. It is estimated that in 1995-96 there were some 1,350 such activities of varying duration and levels of complexity which addressed a wide range of issues including education, the environment, agriculture, health, the advancement of women, and the elimination of prejudice.
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Sustained Independent Projects[edit]
A second level of Bahá’í social and economic development activ- ities is represented by the work of about 270 ongoing projects. The vast majority are schools, including preprimary, primary, secondary, and post secondary educational institutions. They also include small hospitals, dispensaries and clinics, vocational train- ing centers, and radio stations. Some address such specific concerns as race unity, equality between women and men, microenterprise, immunization and primary health care, literacy, and tree-planting.
Organizations with Integrated Action[edit]
Some Bahá’í development efforts have achieved the stature of development organizations with relatively complex programatic structures and significant spheres of influence. These organi- zations, 34 in number and located in all continents of the globe, systematically train human resources and manage a number of lines of action to address problems of local communities and regions in a coordinated, interdisciplinary manner.