Brazil’s Evangelical church grew by 543% over 20 years, study finds

According to a study conducted by the University of Sao Paulo’s Center for Metropolis Studies, the Evangelical church in Brazil grew by 543% between 1990 and 2019, Evangelical Focus report. On average, 17 evangelical churches opened each day during this two decade period, increasing the total number of evangelical churches in the country from 7,033…

Dean Smith

July 19, 2023

1–2 minutes

blog, Brazil, Brazilian evangelical church, Evangelical church, Explosive church growth in Brazil

Christ the Redeemer statue, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Credit: Artyominc/Wikipedia/Creative Commons 3.0

According to a study conducted by the University of Sao Paulo’s Center for Metropolis Studies, the Evangelical church in Brazil grew by 543% between 1990 and 2019, Evangelical Focus report.

On average, 17 evangelical churches opened each day during this two decade period, increasing the total number of evangelical churches in the country from 7,033 to 109,560.

The Pentecostal churches seem to have been the largest benefactors of this growth with Pentecostal denominations reporting 48,781 churches followed by 25,554 churches of unknown classification, 22,400 missionaries and 12,825 churches classified as neo-Pentecostal.

A 2020 survey also revealed that 31% of Brazilians classified themselves as evangelical, up from 9% in 1990.

READ: Evangelical churches in Brazil grew 543% in 20 years