previous restrictions relaxed, the Vietnamese Baháʼí Community has continued to achieve marked progress, returning to a normal pace of activities and showing signs of growth in size, in freedom, and in institutional capacity. Soon after their community's recognition, Vietnamese Baháʼís were granted permission to attend a major regional conference in Battambang, Cambodia, attended by over 2,000 of their co-religionists from Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. National conventions, held annually in various regions, continue to gather delegates and observers in the hundreds for the election of the National Spiritual Assembly. The fourth national convention, held in April 2011 in the southern city of Phan Thiet, gathered more than 300 Baháʼí members. The Vietnamese government also allowed members from other nations in the region, including representatives from the Baháʼí Advisory Board for Asia and its Board of Trustees for Southeast Asia, to join the event and actively participate for the first time. In May 2012, government officials granted 20 Baháʼís permission to participate in their first collective pilgrimage to the Baháʼí World Center in Haifa, Israel. The nine-day pilgrimage allowed them to visit religious shrines and meet with fellow believers. In August of the same year, the Baháʼís of Hanoi celebrated the 20th anniversary of the religion's establishment in that city with a day-long public celebration, attended by nearly 100 followers from the northern area of the country, 20 foreign Baháʼís representing countries in the region, and government officials. In May 2013, Vietnamese Baháʼís were able to send delegates to represent their country at the 11th International Baháʼí Convention in Haifa, where they participated in the election of the Universal House of Justice. Later in the same year, a number of Vietnamese Baháʼí youth joined their counterparts in Cambodia at a youth conference in Battambang. Although the 2005 World Christian Database estimated the Baháʼí population of Vietnam well above 300,000, the U.S. State Department estimated the Baháʼí population at around 8,000 in 2012. Regardless, the 2015 estimate from the World Religion Database, the direct successor to the World Christian Database, was of 413,000 Baháʼís. See also Baháʼí Faith by country Religion in Vietnam List of ethnic groups in Vietnam Notes and references Notes References External links Baha'i Community of Vietnam An individual's webpage about the Baha'is in Vietnam Vietnam Religion in Vietnam