10 Countries with the Highest Percentage of Mormons (+ the Country in Each Region with the Most Mormons)

On April 6, 1830, the Church was organized with just six members in Fayette, New York. More than 187 years later, the Church has grown to over 16 million members around the world. 

In a recent post on ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com, Colorado researcher Matt Martinich tracked the countries with the highest Mormon percentages using data from the CIA World Factbook and www.fao.org. 

Here are the top 10 countries with the highest percentage of Mormons according to Martinich's article. 

Tonga is a country located in the South Pacific comprising more than 170 islands. With a population of 106,479, Tonga has a whopping 60.88 percent Mormon membership and 64,824 members total. 

Learn more about how the Saints in Tonga share their faith here.

Samoa is a country located in the South Pacific with a population of 80,437 Mormon members out of the country's 200,108 population, equaling 40.2 percent. 

American Samoa is an American territory comprised of seven islands and atolls located in the South Pacific with a population of 51,504 and with a Church membership reaching 16,339 and a Mormon percentage of 31.72. 

The Cook Islands is a nation comprised of 15 islands in the South Pacific. The population of the Cook islands is 9,290 with a Mormon population of 1,835, reaching a Mormon percentage of 19.84. 

Niue, a small island located in the South Pacific, has a population of 1,626 and 305 are Mormon, reaching a Mormon membership percentage of 18.76. 

Kiribati is a Central Pacific nation comprised of 33 coral atolls and isles spanning across the equator. The population for Kiribati is 108,145, with a Mormon population of 19,690 and a Mormon percentage of 18.21. 

The Marshall Islands is a nation located in the Central Pacific and comprises volcanic islands and coral atolls. The total population is 73,376 with a Mormon population of 7,446 and Mormon membership percentage of 10.15. 

French Polynesia is comprised of more than 100 islands and is an overseas collectivity of France located in the South Pacific. The total population is 287,881 with a Mormon population of 27,521 and a Mormon percentage of 9.56.

The Federal States of Micronesia is a country in the Western Pacific comprised of more than 600 islands. The population of The Federal States of Micronesia is 104,196 with a Mormon population of 6,217 and a Mormon membership percentage of 5.97. 

Chile is a long, narrow country on the western edge of South America. The population of Chile is 17,789,267 with a Mormon population of 590,124 and a Mormon membership percentage of 3.32.

Here is a list of the countries in each region of the world with the most Mormons as well as the highest percentage of Mormons.

The Philippines is the Asian country with both the most number of Mormons, 765,393 out of a population of 104,256,076, and the largest percentage at 0.73 percent. Mongolia ranks second, with 0.38 percent of the population being Mormon.

In the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic has the highest percentage of Mormons at 1.26 percent as well as the most Mormons, with 134,743 of the 10,734,247 people in the country being LDS. The next country with the highest percentage of Mormons in the Caribbean is Puerto Rico, with .69 percent.

While El Salvador has the highest percentage of Mormons in Central America, 2.04 percent, Guatemala has the most Latter-day Saints overall with 272,449 out of a population 15,460,732, making up 1.76 percent of the population. 

As far as the highest percentage of Mormons in Eastern Europe is concerned, both Bulgaria and Ukraine can claim 0.03 percent of their population as Mormon. Ukraine has far more Mormons, with 11,167 members of the Church and a population of 44,033,874, whereas Bulgaria has 2,418 members of the Church and a population of 7,101,510.

Portugal has the highest percentage of Mormons of any European country, with 0.41 percent of the population being LDS. The second country with the highest percentage of Mormons is the Isle of Man, with 0.32 percent. The country with the most Mormons, however, is by far the United Kingdom, which has over four times as many Mormons as any other European country, with a total of 186,852 and a percentage of 0.39.

The United Arab Emirates has both the most Mormons and highest percentage of Latter-day Saints in the Middle East, with 1,555 of the population of 6,072,675 people belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That equals only 0.03 percent of the population. The country with the second most Mormons is Qatar, which has 556 Mormons that make up 0.02 percent of the population.

In North America, the United States has both the most (6,641,886 out of a population of 326,625,791) and highest percentage (2.03 percent) of Latter-day Saints. Mexico had the second largest numbers overall with 1,435,383 Latter-day Saints out of a population 124,574,795, making up 1.15 percent of the population.

Oceania by far has the most countries with the highest percentage of Mormons, making up the top 9 of the top 10 countries with the highest percentage of Mormons. Of these countries, Tonga has both the most Latter-day Saints (64,824) as well as the highest percentage of Mormons of any country (60.88 percent).

While Chile has the highest percentage of Mormons among South American countries (3.32 percent), Brazil has over twice as many Latter-day Saints as any other South American country, with 1,383,799 members of the Church making up 0.67 percent of the population. Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Argentina, and Guyana all have a higher percentage of Mormons than Brazil.

Cabo Verde, with its 14,205 members, has the highest percentage of Mormons in all of Africa at 2.53 percent. The next country in Sub-Sahara Africa with the highest percentage of Mormons is Sierra Leone, with 0.32 percent. Nigeria has the most Mormons by far with 163,745 members, but in such a populous country they only make up 0.09 percent of the population.

To view the Mormon percentage of more countries,click here to check out this list. 

Lead image from the Deseret News. Maps from Wikimedia Commons.