Bahá’í World/Volume 29/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/ 46 territories
Continental Counsellors Auxiliary Board members serving 81 990 throughout the world
National/Regional Spiritual Assemblies 182
Local Spiritual Assemblies 11,740
Localities where Bahá’ís reside 127,381
Indigenous 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
Publishing Trusts
33
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Geographic Distribution of Local Spiritual Assemblies[edit]
by Continent Americas 3,152 Asia 2,948 Africa 3,808 Europe 976 Australasia 856
Growth in the Number of Localities Where Bahá’ís Reside[edit]
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
1953
1956
1959
1962
1965
1968
1971
1974
1977
1980
1983
1986
1989
1992
1995
1998
2001
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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. 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.
Activities of Fixed Duration[edit]
Most Bahá’í social and economic development efforts are fairly simple activities of fixed duration in which Bahá’ís in villages and towns around the world address the problems and challenges faced by their localities through the application of spiritual principles. These activities either originate in the Bahá’í communities themselves or are a response to the invitation of other organizations. It is estimated that in 2000-01 there were more than 1,800 endeavors of this kind, including tree-planting and clean-up projects, health camps, workshops and seminars on such themes as race unity and the advancement of women, and short-term training courses.
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Sustained Projects[edit]
The second category of Bahá’í social and economic development consists of approximately 393 ongoing projects. The vast majority are academic schools, while others focus on areas such as lit-cracy, basic health care, immunization, substance abuse, child care, agriculture, the environment, or microenterprise. Some of these projects are administered by nascent development organizations which have the potential to grow in complexity and in their range of influence.
Organizations with Capacity to Undertake Complex Action[edit]
Certain Bahá’í development efforts have achieved the stature of development organizations with relatively complex programmatic structures and significant spheres of influence. They 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. Also included in this category are several institutions especially large schools which, although focusing only on one field, have the potential to make a significant impact. In this category there are currently 45 such organizations.