Statistics on National Spiritual Assemblies refers to the number of National Spiritual Assemblies, which are approximately national levels of institutional administration of the Baháʼí Faith, in the world. NSAs exist in most member states of the United Nations but also in some nations that are not recognized by the UN. Generally there are two levels of legal status of a National Spiritual Assembly: when it is established and recognized by the administrative order of the Baháʼí Faith, and second when it attains or loses a legal recognized status in the country wherein it is established. This fluctuation of legal status is notable mostly in Muslim countries that used to have NSAs in the 1920s to 40s but have lost them since the 1950s due to restrictions on religious activity other than Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Additionally some NSAs come into existence due to the splitting off from a National Assembly that has multi-national jurisdiction from a Baháʼí point of view. For example, originally the National Spiritual Assemblies of the United States and Canada, were in fact a single institution though now are separate. Other times NSAs come into existence when the nation they were established in has itself split into separate nations There are no rules about when a National Spiritual Assembly can be established in a country by the Baha'is, but generally speaking it is a statement of the complexity of the community: that there are enough Baháʼís in the country, enough Local Spiritual Assemblies, a need for the Baháʼís in the country to own properties beyond the jurisdiction of any particular Local Spiritual Assembly, and that a National Assembly with jurisdiction across the whole country from a Baháʼí organizational point of view is required.
Totals
Chronology
Below are dates of the establishment and recognition of National Spiritual Assemblies from the Baháʼí point of view. Other than in predominantly Muslim counties, countries where there are no NSAs include most where most any religious institution is illegal such as in North Korea. In 2008 there were 184 National Spiritual Assemblies and in 2006, there are 192 United Nations member states. Most of the below list comes from The Baháʼí Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Baháʼí Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963 1923: British Isles, Austria & Germany, India 1924: Egypt 1925: United States of America and Canada 1931: Iraq 1934: Australia and New Zealand, Persia 1948: Canada 1953: Italy and Switzerland 1956: Central & East Africa, North West Africa, South & West Africa 1957: Alaska; Arabia; New Zealand; North East Asia, Pakistan, South East Asia; Mexico and the Republics of Central America; The Greater Antilles; The Republics of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela; The Republics of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay & Bolivia; Scandinavia and Finland; the Benelux Countries; The Iberian Peninsula. 1958: France 1959: Austria, Burma, South Pacific, Turkey, 1961: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina. 1962: Belgium, Ceylon, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy 1964 Hawaii, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam 1967 Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Laos, Belize, Sikkim 1969 Papua New Guinea 1972 Afghanistan 1972 Singapore, Iceland 1972 Republic of Ireland 1974 Hong Kong, South East Arabia 1975 Niger 1977 Greece 1978 Burundi, Mauritania, the Bahamas, Oman, Qatar, the Mariana Islands, Cyprus 1980: Transkei 1981 Namibia, and Bophuthatswana; the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands, and Bermuda; Tuvalu. re-formation in Uganda 1984: Cape Verde Islands, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, French Guiana, Grenada, Martinique, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Yemen, Canary Islands 1990: Macau 1991 Czechoslovakia, Romania & Soviet Union 1992: Greenland, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus & Moldova; Russia, Georgia & Armenia; Central Asia, Bulgaria, Baltic States, Albania, Poland, Hungary, Niger 1994: Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Slovenia & Croatia, 1995: Eritrea, Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Sicily. 1996: Sao Tome & Principe, Moldova, Nigeria 1999: Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia 2004: Iraq reformed 2008: Vietnam reformed
