Statistics on National Spiritual Assemblies

Statistics on National Spiritual Assemblies (NSAs) refers to the number of National Spiritual Assemblies, which are approximately national levels of institutional administration of the Bahá’í Faith, in the world. NSAs exist in most member states of the United Nations (UN) but also in some nations that are not recognized by the UN. Generally there are two levels of legal status of a National Spiritual Assembly - when it is established and recognized by the administrative order of the Bahá’í Faith, and second when it attains or loses a legal recognized status in the country wherein it is established. This fluctuation of legal status is notable mostly in Muslim countries that used to have NSAs in the 1920s to 40s but have lost them since the 1950s due to restrictions on religious activity other than Islam, Christianity and Judaism (see Persecution of Bahá’ís). Additionally some NSAs come into existence due to the splitting off from a National Assembly that has multi-national jurisdiction from a Bahá’í point of view. For example, originally the National Spiritual Assemblies of the United States and Canada, were in fact a single institution though now are separate. Multi-national NSAs are sometimes referred to as Regional Spiritual Assemblies (RSAs). Other times NSAs come into existence when the nation they were established in has itself split into separate nations (for example when the Soviet Union split into Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)

A reduction in the number of NSAs can have several causes, including: governmental prohibition of Bahá'í administrative activities (Egypt, Iran, etc.); conditions within a country, such as war or civil unrest, making it impossible for an NSA to meet or be elected for a certain period of time (Uganda, Zaire, etc.); or political changes at the national level (NSAs for Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei being "reabsorbed" into South Africa in the 1990s). The number of NSAs can also occasionally be reduced when the House of Justice reorganizes multi-national RSAs.

There are no rules about when a National Spiritual Assembly can be established in a country by the Baha'is, but generally speaking it is a statement of the complexity of the community - that there are enough Bahá’ís in the country, enough Local Spiritual Assemblies, a need for the Bahá’ís in the country to own properties beyond the jurisdiction of any particular Local Spiritual Assembly, and that a National Assembly with jurisdiction across the whole country from a Bahá’í organizational point of view is required.

Number of NSAs[edit]

The following list presents the number of National Spiritual Assemblies by year.[1][2][3][4]

Map of the worldwide spread of the Bahá’í Faith as of 1950, showing the nine National Spiritual Assemblies in existence.
The twelve National Spiritual Assemblies participating in the Ten Year Crusade (1953).
The 56 National Spiritual Assemblies that existed by the end of the Ten Year Crusade (1963).
Increase in the number of National Spiritual Assemblies by continent, 1923–1986.
Years Africa Americas Asia Australasia Europe TOTAL
1922 0 0 0 0 0 0
1923 0 0 1 0 2 3
1924 1 0 1 0 2 4
1925-30 1 1 3 0 2 7
1931-33 1 1 4 0 2 8
1934-36 1 1 5 1 2 10
1937-38 1 1 5 1 1 9
1939-46 1 1 3 1 1 7
1947 1 1 3 1 2 8
1948-50 1 2 3 1 2 9
1951-52 1 4 3 1 2 11
1953-55 1 4 3 1 3 12
1956 4 4 3 1 3 15
1957 4 7 7 2 6 26
1958 4 7 7 2 7 27
1959-60 4 7 9 3 8 31
1961 4 24 9 3 8 48
1962-63 4 24 10 3 15 56
1964-65 10 24 15 5 15 69
1966 10 24 16 5 15 70
1967-68 14 26 20 6 15 81
1969 14 26 20 7 15 82
1970 21 27 21 9 15 93
1971 26 28 21 10 15 100
1972 30 30 25 11 17 113
1973-74 31 30 25 11 17 114
1975 35 30 25 11 17 118
1976 34 30 24 11 17 116
1977 35 32 25 13 18 123
1978 37 33 27 14 19 130
1979 34 33 25 14 19 125
1980 35 33 25 14 19 126
1981 37 36 25 15 19 132
1982 37 36 26 15 19 133
1983 37 38 26 15 19 135
1984 40 41 27 15 20 143
1985-87 43 41 27 17 20 148
1988 44 41 27 17 20 149
1989-90 45 41 28 17 20 151
1991 44 42 28 17 23 154
1992-93 47 43 29 17 29 165
1994 47 43 35 17 30 172
1995 44 43 37 17 32 173
1996 44 43 36 17 34 174
1997 45 43 36 17 34 175
1998 46 43 38 17 35 179
1999 46 43 38 17 37 181
2000-03 46 43 39 17 37 182
2004 46 43 40 17 37 183
2005 46 41 39 17 37 180
2006 46 40 39 17 37 179
2007 46 40 39 16 37 178
2008 46 40 40 16 37 179
2009 46 40 41 16 37 180
2010 46 40 44 16 35 181
2011 47 40 44 16 35 182
2012 46 40 44 16 35 181

Since 1996, Turkey is included in the number for Europe instead of Asia.

Since 2006, Greenland is included in the number for Europe instead of the Americas.

As of 2010, Turkey and the Russian Federation are included in the number for Asia instead of Europe.

See Also[edit]

The pages listed below provide several views related to the growth of the Bahá'í Faith around the world.

Bahaipedia pages:

External sources:

  • "National Spiritual Assembly members who are women, Percentage of, 1953-2007".


These various views are presented in separate pages, in an attempt to keep each page manageable. Most of these pages are dynamic and are expected to be updated as NSA's are formed or transition.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Notes on Research on National Spiritual Assemblies Asia Pacific Bahá’í Studies.
  2. ↑ Baha'i World Statistics 2001 by Baha'i World Center Department of Statistics, 2001-08
  3. ↑ The Life of Shoghi Effendi by Helen Danesh, John Danesh and Amelia Danesh, Studying the Writings of Shoghi Effendi, edited by M. Bergsmo (Oxford: George Ronald, 1991)
  4. ↑ Letter from Bahá'í World Centre Department of Statistics to an individual believer, dated 14 March 2001, and revised with updated information 17 May 2011


This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Statistics on National Spiritual Assemblies.
Retrieved from "https://bahaipedia.org/index.php?title=Statistics_on_National_Spiritual_Assemblies&oldid=147060"

Table Of Contents