Bahá’í World/Volume 30/Statistics

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The Bahá’í World Volume 30

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[Page 311]

GENERAL STATISTICS

Worldwide Bahá’í population Countries/dependent territories where the Bahá’í Faith is established Continental Counsellors

More than five million 190 countries/ 46 territories 81

Auxiliary Board members serving throughout the world 990

National/Regional Spiritual Assemblies 182

Local Spiritual Assemblies 11,746

Localities where Bahá’ís reside 127,555

Indigenous tribes, races, and ethnic groups represented in the Bahá’í community 2,112

Languages into which Bahá’u’lláh’s writings have been translated 802

Publishing Trusts 31 [Page 312]

Geographic Distribution of Local Spiritual Assemblies by Continent

Asia 2,957 Australasia 856 Americas 3,149 Europe 976 Africa 3,808

Growth in the Number of Localities Where Bahá’ís Reside

140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 [Page 313]

STATISTICS

Growth in the Number of National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies

Social and Economic Development

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

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 2001-02 there were more than 2,200 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. [Page 314]

SUSTAINED PROJECTS

The second category of Bahá’í social and economic development consists of approximately 475 ongoing projects. The vast majority are academic schools, while others focus on areas such as literacy, 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

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.