GENEVA (ELCA) -- There were 60,978,623 Lutherans worldwide in 1996, according to information released here by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The comparable figures for 1995 and 1994 were 60.1 million and 59.7 million respectively.
The 122 member churches and 12 recognized congregations of the LWF totaled 57.3 million members in 1996, compared with 56.5 million in 1995 and close to 56.1 million in 1994. At the end of 1996, over 3.6 million Lutherans worldwide did not belong to the LWF, an increase of about 15,000 compared with the previous year.
The 7.6-million-member Church of Sweden remained the world's largest Lutheran church, followed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with nearly 5.2 million members and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland with just under 4.6 million.
Germany, where the Lutheran tradition has its origin, had the largest number of Lutherans in any one country. Its Lutheran churches have a combined membership of close to 14.2 million, ahead of the United States with nearly 8.3 million.
The most significant increases in membership were reported by the two largest Lutheran churches in Africa. The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus recorded an increase of over 400,000 members, while the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania grew by 100,000. The biggest decline was reported by the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church in northern Germany, from 2.5 million to 2.35 million -- a decrease of over 150,000. These changes compare with figures submitted by the three churches in 1994.
A reported increase in the membership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States, from 50,000 to 250,000, is due to a change in the way of counting members.
The largest increase in any one region was reported in Africa, where the overall total of Lutherans rose by over 718,000 compared with the previous year. In Asia the net increase was over 82,000, in Europe over 27,000 and in Latin America over 23,000. North America recorded a net decrease of more than 11,000.
The largest concentration of Lutheranism and the LWF is in Europe, at over 37.3 million members. North America has just under 8.6 million Lutherans, of whom 5.4 million belong to the LWF. Almost all of Africa's over 8.6 million Lutherans are members of the federation. Asia has over 4.9 million Lutherans, of whom more than 4.8 million belong to the LWF. Of the 1.4 million Lutherans in Latin America, over 1.1 million are members of the LWF.
The membership statistics are based on information supplied to the LWF Office for Communication Services by the churches. Of the federation's 122 member churches, 79 supplied information. Of these, 31 reported increases and 19 decreases of at least 1,000 members respectively compared with previous figures. Latest available figures are cited in the case of those churches whose replies were not received by end November 1996.
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LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION
1996 MEMBERSHIP FIGURES - SUMMARY
The following figures give the membership of the 122 LWF member
churches, and 12 recognized congregations, as well as other
Lutheran churches or bodies in contact with the Lutheran World
Federation. Figures identified with an asterisk (*) include the
membership of Baltic churches abroad.
General Summary 1996
122 LWF member churches and
12 recognized congregations 57,338,176
Lutherans outside LWF constituency 3,640,447
Total 60,978,623
Regional totals
All Lutherans LWF Membership Other Contacts
Africa 8,659,300 8,590,845 68,455
Asia 4,955,409 4,839,529 115,880
Europe 37,369,667 (*) 37,369,667 ---
Latin America 1,404,881 1,131,963 272,918
North America 8,589,366 (*) 5,406,172 3,183,194
TOTAL 60,978,623 57,338,176 3,640,447
Countries with more than 500,000 Lutherans
Germany (*)14,178,295
USA (*) 8,298,839
Sweden 7,600,000
Finland 4,582,152
Denmark 4,541,650
Norway 3,800,000
Indonesia 2,440,500
Tanzania 2,300,000
Ethiopia 2,091,851
Madagascar 1,500,000
India 1,288,441
Brazil 1,208,188
Papua New Guinea 910,000
South Africa 886,837
Namibia 697,000
Lutheran Churches with more than 500,000 members
Church of Sweden 7,600,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 5,190,489
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 4,582,152
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark 4,541,650
Church of Norway 3,800,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover (Germany) 3,293,241
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (Germany) 2,772,000
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (USA and Canada) 2,600,000
(Note: The LCMS is not an LWF member church.) Evangelical Church in Wuerttemberg (Germany) 2,450,000 North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Germany) 2,353,816 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania 2,300,000 Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus 2,091,851 Protestant Christian Batak Church (Indonesia) 1,559,478 Malagasy Lutheran Church (Madagascar) 1,500,000 Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony (Germany) 1,114,000 Evangelical of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil 1,000,000 Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea 815,000 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa 768,998 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia (Germany) 663,000
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
