A Global Movement

The Salvation Army in Papua New Guinea

As an international movement organised around Christian principles, The Salvation Army is a mobilised force fighting injustice and inequality around the world without discrimination.

Today, The Salvation Army ministers in 133 countries around the world through a wide variety of spiritual and humanitarian programs ranging from day-care centres for children to nursing homes for the aged; programs to assist those with dependency issues, the homeless, and those without advocacy. More than 14 million people around the world are helped every year by The Salvation Army. 

From country to country, The Salvation Army is primarily driven by local people working passionately to make a difference. This means The Salvation Army in Australia is distinctly Australian, The Salvation Army in Africa is distinctly African, and The Salvation Army in Asia is distinctly Asian.

Empowering and equipping local people to impact their own community has always been a key focus of The Salvation Army, allowing the richness of true international partnership and collaboration while holding tightly to the importance of local community impact.

International Headquarters

The Salvation Army's International Headquarters is located in London, England.

Visit the International Headquarters website

International statistics

The statistics below provide an indication of the scope of The Salvation Army's international work.

The Salvation Army's work in various countries is tailored to the social and economic needs of local communities. This means the activities of The Salvation Army can be vastly different from country to country. For example, The Salvation Army runs 30 hospitals internationally, but does not administer any in Australia.

Number of corps (churches) 14,526
Number of officers 27,423
Number of employees 112,393
Soldiers 1,225,101
Adherent members 178,712
Junior soldiers 411,287
Community development programmes 8712 (beneficiaries: 1,004,646)
Homeless hostels 495 (capacity: 29,736)
Residential addiction dependency programmes 217 (capacity: 14,602)
Children's homes 234 (capacity: 7,752)
Homes for elderly persons 150 (capacity: 10,608)
Mother and baby homes 38 (capacity: 1,094)
Refugees 114 (capacity: 2,883)
Community centres 582
Non-residential addiction rehabilitation centres 1,975
Services to the armed forces 57 chaplains, 43 mobile units
Disaster rehabilitation schemes 121
Prisoners visited 153,784
General hospitals 30
Maternity hospitals 39
Specialist hospitals 38

Source: The Salvation Army International 2020 Year Book, as at 1 January 2019

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