Countries and territories with the most Latter-day Saints without a stake or district

A couple weeks ago I made a post providing a list of the 20 countries and territories with the most Latter-day Saints without a stake.  Each of the 20 countries and territories with the most Latter-day Saints without a stake have at least one district however.  Districts are generally comprised of three to ten branches and are like a simplified version of a stake but demand less administrative responsibilities from local leadership as mission or area presidents are responsible for these duties (such as Melchizedek Priesthood ordinations, temple recommend interviews, ect).  The formation and continued operation of a district generally signifies maturation in local church leadership, lays the foundation for a stake, provides greater administrative training opportunities for local leaders, and can better coordinate the organization of additional branches and groups.

In this post I provide a list of the 20 countries and territories with the most Latter-day Saints without a stake or district.  Nine of the 20 nations and territories listed below once had districts operating but no longer do due to insufficient numbers of active priesthood holders, low member activity rates, congregation consolidations, or changes in mission or area policy regarding the operation of districts.  Membership and congregational statistics and the assignment of individual congregations are provided.  Countries and territories in italics once had an LDS district but have had their district discontinued.  The years during which a district operated is provided for nations which once had LDS districts.  LDS membership is estimated for some nations as official 2010 LDS membership figures were unavailable or appeared to be inaccurate for some nations.

1. Botswana

• 1,800 members (2010 est.)
• 3 wards, 3 branches, 5 groups
• Roodepoort South Africa Stake and South Africa Johannesburg Mission
• Gaborone Botswana District (1992-1995)

2. Cameroon

• 1,003 members
• 5 branches, 1 group 
• Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa Mission

3. The Bahamas 

• 917 members
• 3 branches
• Jamaica Kingston Mission
• New Providence Bahamas District (2002-2009) 

4. Benin

• 800 members (2010 est.)
•  3 branches, 3 groups
• Benin Cotonou Mission

5. Lesotho

• 747 members
•  2 branches, 1 group
• Bloemfontein South Africa District

6. Greece 

• 735 members
•  5 branches
• Greece Athens Mission
• Athens Greece District (~1987-mid-1990s)

7. Namibia 

• 686 members
• 2 branches
• South Africa Cape Town Mission
• Windhoek Namibia District (1991-1992)

8. Macau

• 673 members
• 2 branches
• China Hong Kong Mission

9. Saipan (NMI)

• 632 members
• 1 ward
• Barrigada Guam Stake

10. U.S. Virgin Is.

• 570 members
• 2 branches
• Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

11. Curacao

• 550 members (2010 est.)
• 1 branch
• Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission
• Willemstad Curacao District (2004-2009) 

12. Aruba 

• 489 members
• 2 branches
• Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission
• Oranjestad Aruba District (2004-2009) 

13. Saint Vincent

• 483 members
• 2 branches
• West Indies Mission

14. Palau

• 443 members
• 1 branch
• Micronesia Guam Mission 
• Palau District (late 1980s-mid-1990s) 

15. C.A.R.

• 427 members
• 1 branch
• Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa Mission

16. Mauritius

• 406 members
• 2 branches
• Madagascar Antananarivo Mission

17. French Guiana

• 368 members
• 1 branch
• West Indies Mission 
• Cayenne French Guiana District (2009-2011) 

18. Luxembourg

• 296 members
• 1 ward 
• Nancy France Stake

19. Niue 

• 284 members
• 2 branches 
• New Zealand Auckland Mission
• Niue District (discontinued in 2005)

20. Turkey

• 254 members
• 4 branches 
• Bulgaria Sofia Mission and Europe East Area Branch

Of these 20 nations, Botswana is the only country which appears likely to have its first LDS stake organized instead of a district as most congregations are currently assigned to the Roodepoort South Africa Stake.  The LDS Church appears most likely to organize a district in Cameroon, Benin, and Lesotho among the remaining 19 nations list above.  The operation of at least three branches within a close proximity of each other will be required for districts to be organized in additional nations listed above.