Areas of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outside US and Canada. Areas of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in US andCanada.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), an area is an administrative unit that typically is composed of multiple stakes and missions. These areas are the primary church administrative unit between individual stakes or missions and the church as a whole.
History The areas as they now exist were formed in January 1984.Allen, James B. and Glen M. Leonard. The Story of the Latter-day Saints 2nd Edition, p. 654. Prior to that time, general authorities served as "area supervisors" and at times resided outside of Salt Lake City. In 1984, 13 initial areas were created; by 1992 there were 22, and by early 2007 there were 31. As of August 2025, there are 24 areas, 6 in the United States, and 18 worldwide, including the new Canada Area.Africa Southeast Area to be Divided into Two Areas, South African Newsroom, 28 June 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.Africa Central Area Office to be in Nairobi Kenya, South African Newsroom, 19 August 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.First Presidency Announces 2022 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022. In conjunction with the move to create a Canada Area, five of the other six North American areas were renamed. The former North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Southwest, and North America West Areas, respectively are now known as the United States Central, United States Northeast, United States Southeast, United States Southwest, and United States West Areas, respectively.First Presidency Announces 2025-2026 Area Leadership Assignments, Church News, 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025" Area presidency assignments for 2025-26 announced, Church News, 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
Administration Until 2003, each area had a president and two counselors, all of whom were typically general authorities (area seventies sometimes served as counselors). This three-man body was known as the area presidency. In that year, the church eliminated these presidencies for areas located in the United States and Canada, which were all then placed under the direct supervision of a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, thus freeing more general authorities from specific area assignments. Since these areas were previously administered by area presidencies located at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, the administrative change was not as drastic as it might seem.
In April 2018, the church announced that, effective August 1 of that year, areas in the United States and Canada would once again be supervised by a three-man presidency. This enabled the Presidency of the Seventy to more fully assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in their duties, and to fill other assignments as needed.First Presidency Announces 2018 Area Leadership Assignments, Mormon Newsroom, 5 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
The areas outside the United States continue to be governed by area presidencies that are typically composed of general authority seventies and/or area seventies. These presidency members usually reside in a headquarters city located in the geographic boundaries of the area. Area seventies who serve in these presidencies reside in their own homes, which may or may not be in the area headquarters city.
In 2019, church leaders stated that the 10 North American areas would be merged into six (the Idaho Area merged into the North America Central Area; the North America Northwest Area merged into the North America West Area; and the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South areas merged into a single Utah Area.First Presidency Announces 2019 Area Leadership Assignments, churchofjesuschrist.org, 26 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
Also in 2019, a structural change occurred in the administration of the Middle East/Africa North Area. In prior years, two general authorities based at church headquarters were assigned oversight for the area. However, beginning in August 2019, a three-man area presidency was established to oversee the area. Two of them were general authorities at church headquarters, while the second counselor was an area seventy living in the area.
In 2019, church leaders also announced the division of the Africa Southeast Area, into the Africa Central and Africa South areas, effective August 1, 2020. Two months later, W. Christopher Waddell, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, announced in Johannesburg that the new Africa Central Area would be headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.Nairobi, Kenya, to be Church Africa Central Area Office, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 20 August 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
Then in 2022, additional structural changes affected Europe. The Europe and Europe East areas were split into 3 areas and renamed the Europe Central, Europe East, and Europe North areas. The presidency of the Europe Area became the presidency of the Europe Central Area, with the presidency of the Europe East Area becoming three area seventies. The president and first counselor in the Europe East Area were reassigned to fill the same roles in the Europe North Area, with the second counselor being an area seventy. The area seventy who had been serving as the second counselor in the Europe East Area was designated an assistant to the Europe North Area presidency, specifically overseeing Ukraine and Moldova, which will be separate from a specific area at the current time.First Presidency announces 2022-2023 area leadership assignments, Church News, 7 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
Then, in early December 2024, the First Presidency created a new Canada Area. Subsequently, in mid-April 2025, in conjunction with the announcement of the first Canada Area presidency, it was announced that the area headquarters would be in Calgary, Alberta, with some area functions managed in Toronto, Ontario.New Canada Area Presidency Announced, Canada Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.While two of the area presidency members will administer the area from the main headquarters in Calgary, one presidency member will administer the area from Toronto
As of August 2025, the church has 18 areas outside and 6 areas inside the United States, for a total of 24 areas. With the changes in the Europe Areas, the church now has five area seventies serving in area presidencies. Area assignments are generally announced sometime after April's general conference and are effective August 1.Historically, the assignments were effective on August 15, but August 1 has been the effective date since 2007.
Summary statistics Area Members Stakes Districts Congregations Missions Temples Temples O=Operating Temples (includes temporary closures) U=Temples Under Construction A=Temples publicly announced to be constructed T=Total Temples (announced and under construction)
Area details The following details are current as of August 1, 2025, and are primarily taken from the Facts and Statistics page of the church's official website (www.churchofjesuschrist.org). Ward and branch totals and membership numbers were last updated (with some approximations as noted in the previous section) in 2025.
Africa Central Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
Official Website
244,714 Members, 59 Stakes, 34 Districts, 744 Congregations, 15 Missions, 7 TemplesBased on official and unofficial membership and congregational found on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics data is 2025 or latest available. This is combined numbers for all countries within area. Temple count includes temples that are announced or under constructionArea President: Paul B. PieperArea presidency assignments for 2026-2027 include 'adaptations', Deseret News, 15 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.What the First Presidency’s changes to area presidencies tell us about how the church operates, Deseret News, 17 April 20226. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
Counselors: Alfred Kyungu & Christophe G. Giraud-CarrierMissions: Cameroon Yaounde Mission Kananga Mission Kinshasa East Mission Kinshasa North Mission Kinshasa South Mission Kinshasa West Mission Kolwezi Mission Lubumbashi Mission Mbuji-Mayi Mission Mwene-Ditu Mission Ethiopia Addis Ababa Mission Kenya Kisumu Mission Kenya Nairobi East Mission Kenya Nairobi West Mission Republic of the Congo Brazzaville Mission Rwanda Kigali Mission Tanzania Dar es Salaam Mission Uganda Kampala East Mission Uganda Kampala West MissionTemples:Geographic coverage:(Areas where the LDS Church has no official presence in italics) Africa South Headquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa
Official Website
228,689 Members, 51 Stakes, 27 Districts, 585 Congregations, 13 Missions, 8 TemplesArea President: Carlos A. Godoy
Counselors: Vaiangina Sikahema & Ozani FariasMissions:Angola Luanda Mission Angola Luanda North Mission Botswana/Namibia Mission Madagascar Antananarivo North Mission Madagascar Antananarivo South Mission Malawi Lilongwe MissionMozambique Beira Mission Mozambique Maputo Mission Mozambique Nampula Mission South Africa Cape Town Mission South Africa Durban Mission South Africa East LondonSouth Africa Johannesburg Mission South Africa Pretoria Mission Zambia Lusaka Mission Zimbabwe Bulawayo Mission Zimbabwe Harare East Mission Zimbabwe Harare West MissionTemples:Geographic coverage:(Areas where the LDS Church has no official presence in italics) Africa West Headquarters: Accra, Ghana
Official Website
587,338 Members, 163 Stakes, 42 Districts, 1,171 wards, 738 branches, 32 missions, 13 templesAs noted here, current as of March 21, 2023. Temple count includes those announced or under construction.Area president: Adeyinka A. Ojediran
Counselors: Isaac K. Morrison, D. Martin Goury, & Christian C. ChigbunduMissions:Benin Cotonou Mission Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan East Mission Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan North Mission Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan South Mission Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan West Mission Côte d'Ivoire Daloa Mission Côte d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro Mission Ghana Accra East Mission Ghana Accra North Mission Ghana Accra South Mission Ghana Accra West MissionGhana Cape Coast Mission Ghana Kumasi Mission Ghana Sunyani Mission Ghana Takoradi Mission Liberia Monrovia East Mission Liberia Monrovia West Mission Nigeria Aba Mission Nigeria Abuja Mission Nigeria Benin City Mission Nigeria Calabar Mission Nigeria Enugu MissionNigeria Ibadan Mission Nigeria Lagos Mission Nigeria Owerri Mission Nigeria Port Harcourt North Mission Nigeria Port Harcourt South Mission Nigeria Uyo Mission Senegal Dakar Mission Sierra Leone Bo Mission Sierra Leone Freetown Mission Togo Lomé MissionTemples:Geographic coverage:(Areas where the LDS Church has no official presence in italics) Asia Headquarters: Hong Kong, China
Official Website
184,927 Members, 33 Stakes, 23 Districts, 335 Congregations, 13 Missions, 9 TemplesArea President: Kelly R. Johnson
Counselors: David L. Buckner & Wan-Liang WuMissions:Cambodia Phnom Penh East Mission Cambodia Phnom Pehn West Mission China Hong Kong Mission India Bengaluru Mission India New Delhi MissionIndonesia Jakarta Mission Pakistan Service Mission Singapore Mission Taiwan Kaohsiung MissionTaiwan Taipei Mission Thailand Bangkok East Mission Thailand Bangkok West Mission Vietnam Hanoi MissionTemples:Geographic coverage:(Areas where the LDS Church has no official presence in italics) Asia North Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Official Website
244,637 Members, 38 Stakes, 16 Districts, 381 Congregations, 12 Missions, 9 TemplesArea President: J. Kimo Esplin
Counselors: Christopher H. Kim & Michael John U. TehMissions:Japan Fukuoka Mission Japan Kobe Mission Japan Nagoya Mission Japan Sapporo Mission Japan Sendai MissionJapan Tokyo North Mission Japan Tokyo South Mission Korea Busan Mission Korea Seoul MissionKorea Seoul South Mission