Facts and Statistics

Close
    Show:Hide:
    Show mapHide map

    Benin

    6,140

    Total Church Membership

    1-in-

    2

    Stakes

    26

    Congregations

    21 Wards
    5 Branches

    3

    FamilySearch Centers

    3

    1

    Missions

    History

    In the late 1990s, a small group of Beninese began meeting in the home of Lincoln Dahl, a Latter-day Saint working in the American embassy in Cotonou, to partake of the sacrament and study the scriptures. When Dahl left Benin in 1997, Mathias Egoku, a Nigerian member of the Church living in Benin, led the group, which was beginning to grow. Two years later, missionaries from the Côte d’Ivoire Abidjan Mission began teaching the gospel over the phone to interested people in Cotonou. No baptisms, however, could be performed until after the Church was officially recognized in the country.

    In 2003 the Church received formal recognition in Benin, and two years later, the first branch was organized in Cotonou with Egoku as president. Other branches soon followed. The Saints in Benin answered the charge to “labor in my vineyard, and to build up my church, and to bring forth Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 39:13). The Church in Benin grew quickly. Just three years after the first branch was established, three branches had been organized. In 2012 a district was created in Cotonou and, just four years later, the district became the first stake in Benin. Latter-day Saints in Benin continue to share the gospel and to reach out in love to their community.

    For Journalist Use Only

    Lionel Missigbeto

    Phone: +229 9772 3086

    Email

    Africa

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    849,568

    Members

    2,721

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    423

    Temples

    6Temples

    Asia

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    1,298,181

    Members

    2,113

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    402

    Temples

    10Temples

    Europe

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    507,748

    Members

    1,296

    Congregations

    Missions

    35Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    663

    Temples

    14Temples

    North America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    9,637,503

    Members

    18,423

    Congregations

    Missions

    175Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    3,054

    Temples

    120Temples

    Oceania (Pacific)

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    599,065

    Members

    1,308

    Congregations

    Missions

    17Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    318

    Temples

    11Temples

    South America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    4,320,129

    Members

    5,629

    Congregations

    Missions

    97Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    1,355

    Temples

    25Temples