How many Freemasons are there worldwide today?
Worldwide membership of the fraternity is currently estimated at around six million. According to freemasonry.org, there are more than six million Freemasons globally, with approximately 1.1 million of those residing in North America. Reporting on figures from the United Grand Lodge of England, the Somerset Freemasons website similarly notes that the worldwide total stands at around six million members.
Precise statistics on global membership are difficult to compile into a single definitive census because the fraternity lacks a central governing authority. Jurisdiction is held independently by dozens of distinct, sovereign Grand Lodges around the world, each maintaining its own register of regular lodges and individual members within its territorial boundaries.
The websites I drew on here are not among those a Masonic researcher would ordinarily rely upon. Please weigh what they say accordingly.
AI can make mistakes. Please check anything important against the works cited above.
4 follow-ups left in this thread
Where to go next
Each opens a thread of its own.
- How is regular Freemasonry governed across different international jurisdictions?
- What is the history of Grand Lodges in North America?
- How has Masonic membership fluctuated over the twentieth century?
This answer was written by AI from the works cited above. AI can make mistakes — please verify anything that matters against the source itself.