CHICAGO (ELCA) -- There are 61,421,782 Lutherans in the world, according to figures compiled by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) at the end of 1997. The LWF is a communion of 57,804,693 of those Lutherans in 124 member churches in 69 countries. The total number of Lutherans in the world increased from 60,978,623 in 1996.
Africa accounted for the greatest increases in the numbers of Lutherans -- from just under 8.6 million to more than 9 million. A record 200,000 people became Lutherans in 1997 in Tanzania for a total of 2.5 million. Membership in Ethiopia last year increased by 182,358 to a total membership of 2,274,209. Nigeria reported 175,000 more members in 1997 than in 1996, bringing its total to 655,000.
The 7.6-million-member Church of Sweden remains the world's largest Lutheran church, followed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with nearly 5.2 million and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland with just under 4.6 million.
Germany, the cradle of Lutheranism, still has the largest number of Lutherans in any one country. There, the Lutheran churches had a combined membership of over 14 million in 1997, ahead of the United States with nearly 8.3 million.
Of all Lutherans worldwide, 3,617,089 do not belong to the LWF. The largest non-member church is The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod with 2.6 million members in the United States and Canada.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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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
