May 2, 2015

2015: The standing and position of the Bahá’í community in the world today

  • More than 5 million Bahá’ís reside in virtually every country and territory around the world, in well over 100,000 localities.
  • Three National Assemblies have been re-formed in recent years in the Muslim world: those of Egypt, Indonesia and Iraq.
  • There are 182 National Spiritual Assemblies operating around the world. Over 40 percent of the membership of these national councils are women.
  • National Spiritual Assemblies in countries with extended areas of jurisdiction have all established Regional Bahá’í Councils.
  • The number of Continental Counselors has reached 81, with 990 Auxiliary Board members serving under them.
  • The number of countries where Bahá’í marriage certificates are recognized has reached 60.
  • Bahá’í literature is available in 802 languages.
  • Over 27,000 classes for the spiritual and moral education of children and junior youth, open to children of Bahá’ís and those belonging to other denominations or groups, are conducted by Bahá’í communities on a regular basis.
  • More than 600 Bahá’í elementary schools, mostly in rural areas where formal schools do not exist, are operating throughout the world.
  • Seven continental Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been established in virtually all the continents of the globe—all open for prayers and readings for the spiritual upliftment of Bahá’ís and interested friends. The eighth and last continental Temple is being built in Santiago, Chile.
  • Plans for the construction of two national and five local Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been set in motion.
  • Countless devotional gatherings all over the world are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in Bahá’í homes. These are open to the believers and to the public as well.
  • In all such meetings, whether in Bahá’í Temples or in informal devotional gatherings, Bahá’í prayers and readings are offered as well as appropriate extracts of scriptures of other revealed religions.
(Data prepared by the Statistics Department of the Bahá’í World Center and provided to Mr. Nakhjavani for his article on: “Theninth cycle of the Bahá’í calendar and its relationship to the teaching work”)