JW growth

by larc 19 Replies latest jw friends

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  rebel

  That link is amazing - check it out all of you!

  Thanks SpannerintheWorks for such a fantastic resource.

  xxR
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  JH

  What do you mean today since 12:01 Am world population increase: 100,474,046 !!!

  the population didn't go up 100 million in 1 day.

  NO WAY

  http://gatheringofisrael.com/gospelclock

  Edited by - jh on 12 February 2003 16:38:27
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  A Paduan

  2.26% from 1995 - 2002 ?

  Apparently, world population was growing at 2.2% per annum - 7 times faster.

  Aside from cooking the books - at that rate they would appear to be disappearing.

  Edited by - a paduan on 12 February 2003 16:43:2
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  larc

  JH, I did not mean to imply, nor do the statistics imply that the numbers will "tumble". The long term trend, however, it toward zero growth. Regarding, population growth: Paduan, the numbers are somewhat lower than 2%. Population growth in 1994 was 1.5%. In 2001, it was 1.25%. Taking an average of 1.4% for those years, would mean that the Witnesses are growing at a rate of .8%, less than 1% faster than the population. That is not much, considering all the work they put into getting converts.
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  Earnest

  Hi larc,

  So, here are some numbers on growth rates: 1941-1963: 11%, 1963-1974: 6.6%, 1974-1990: 4.5%, 1990-1995: 4%, 1995-2002: 2.26%.

  It is interesting to compare the world population growth rates for the same periods (derived from http://blue.census.gov/ipc/www/worldpop.html) :

  1950 - 1963 : 1.8%, 1963-1974 : 2.0%, 1974-1990 : 1.7%, 1990-1995 : 1.46%, 1995-2002 : 1.27%.

  This suggests that in the last seven years more than half the growth was natural. However, I think the natural growth is less in first world countries and the increase is from less developed regions.

  If that is so it suggests that their increase will continue. Why ? Because 95% of the 78 million people added to the world each year live in the less developed regions. ( http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbilpart1.pdf)

  Regards,

  Earnest

  Edited by - Earnest on 12 February 2003 20:57:56
• 

  DanTheMan

  Good work larc. I remember there being such excitement in the mid-90's about the mass baptisms in Russia and other formerly communist countries. Now that that has died down, I think that growth will go zero in the years to come, maybe even negative. That is unless China opens up, then the WT will find a vast new territory of suckers.

  At the last few circuit & district assemblies I attended, there were very few getting baptized, and in almost all cases the ones getting dunked were the offspring of JW parents. I remember telling an elder that the organization had gotten totally stale from no new blood coming in, just the same old people year after year. But of course he had some answer for that, I can't remember what it was.
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  Maverick

  Has anyone considered the growth in numbers of the people who leave? The WatchTower Corporate drive out the free-thinking intelligent and artistic types. It is not unlike the plight of Europeans who fled to America two hundred years ago. The corporate does install exit phobias that mess up the minds of many but once you get over that the ones who leave are a force that the Corporate will have to watch out for. In time these ones could do real damage to the J-duds! Check out the Baptism Nullification letter in this forum.
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  larc

  I just ran the numbers for the United States. The average growth rate was 1.3% and the population growth was .3%. so they are growing in the States at about the same rate as they are, world wide. I do agree with Earnest. If they have any growth it will be from third world countries. They do have a problem with this. The finances come from developed countries, and if this source of money dries up, they can not afford to expand to the poor countries.
• 

  onacruse

  larc, as I was thinking about this thread today, it occurred to me...cancer has a tremendous growth rate.

  Craig
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  DanTheMan

  :The WatchTower Corporate drive out the free-thinking intelligent and artistic types. It is not unlike the plight of Europeans who fled to America two hundred years ago

  Good observation. This board is a clear indication that the WT is losing, and will continue to lose, their best & brightest, who find the JW straightjacket to be a little too confining and insanity-inducing.