by Drearyweather 61 Replies latest watchtower bible
Numbers published by the WT do not say anything. Part could be true and another part false. Very common for organizations that depend on the perception among its members of how great their organization is. Even if there are only 10 congregations left with 5 members, the WT will publish it in such a way that it seems positive.
The only figures I would be interested in are the financials. The WT will never publish those so have to wait for "Satan's" world to do that one day.....
Rules & Regs,
Thanks for the analysis!
dropoff,
They just could not bring themselves to list so many zeros. After all, "that would be discouraging to the brothers."
JB,
"clearly a minus"— now that would really "discouraging to the brothers." They can't have that!
"During the 2018 service year, * Jehovah’s Witnesses spent over $214 million in caring for special pioneers, missionaries, and circuit overseers in their field service assignments. Worldwide, a total of 20,331 ordained ministers staff the branch facilities. All are members of the Worldwide Order of Special Full-Time Servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses."
Yet, 'more' money (+6%) ???into their "staff" (while closing 3 branches) when they admit they are putting more money out than they are receiving ???
I put the 2018 report into a spreadsheet to compare it to the 2017 report. I was a little surprised that the percent increase shown is NOT computed from the published Peak 2018 and Peak 1017 figures. It might be from the average publisher totals, but they do not appear in the table.
The fourth column over is computed from the published data for peak publishers, the fifth column over is what they published this year.
Go figure
| Country or Territory | 2018 Peak Pubs. | 2017 Peak Pubs. | 2018 Peak / 2017 Peak | % Inc. Over 2017 |
| Albania | 5,647 | 5,637 | -0.2% | |
| American Samoa | 194 | 189 | -2.6% | -6 |
| Andorra | 178 | 178 | 0.0% | -4 |
| Angola | 155,991 | 143,322 | -8.1% | 9 |
| Anguilla | 67 | 81 | 20.9% | |
| Antigua | 479 | 485 | 1.3% | -1 |
| Argentina | 153,342 | 150,823 | -1.6% | 1 |
| Armenia | 10,977 | 10,974 | 0.0% | |
| Aruba | 1,080 | 1,072 | -0.7% | |
| Australia | 68,247 | 67,748 | -0.7% | 1 |
| Austria | 21,563 | 21,567 | 0.0% | |
| Azerbaijan | 1,430 | 1,414 | -1.1% | 2 |
| Azores | 767 | 755 | -1.6% | |
| Bahamas | 1,762 | 1,702 | -3.4% | 3 |
| Bangladesh | 303 | 307 | 1.3% | 1 |
| Barbados | 2,496 | 2,529 | 1.3% | -2 |
| Belarus | 6,146 | 5,913 | -3.8% | 2 |
| Belgium | 25,429 | 25,480 | 0.2% | |
| Belize | 2,673 | 2,628 | -1.7% | 1 |
| Benin | 13,644 | 12,939 | -5.2% | 4 |
| Bermuda | 521 | 480 | -7.9% | -2 |
| Bolivia | 27,776 | 27,699 | -0.3% | 3 |
| Bonaire | 160 | 131 | -18.1% | 2 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,108 | 1,144 | 3.2% | -4 |
| Botswana | 2,316 | 2,245 | -3.1% | 2 |
| Brazil | 869,537 | 858,799 | -1.2% | 3 |
| Britain | 139,783 | 137,468 | -1.7% | |
| Bulgaria | 2,530 | 2,475 | -2.2% | 3 |
| Burkina Faso | 1,958 | 1,863 | -4.9% | 3 |
| Burundi | 14,508 | 13,927 | -4.0% | 5 |
| Cambodia | 1,156 | 1,120 | -3.1% | 5 |
| Cameroon | 43,965 | 43,092 | -2.0% | 4 |
| Canada | 115,959 | 115,580 | -0.3% | |
| Cape Verde | 2,317 | 2,239 | -3.4% | 3 |
| Cayman Islands | 265 | 257 | -3.0% | |
| Central African Republic | 2,889 | 2,763 | -4.4% | 3 |
| Chad | 847 | 863 | 1.9% | 3 |
| Chile | 80,451 | 78,603 | -2.3% | 2 |
| Chuuk | 47 | 46 | -2.1% | 10 |
| Colombia | 181,691 | 173,802 | -4.3% | 3 |
| Congo, Dem. Republic of | 229,740 | 216,696 | -5.7% | 4 |
| Congo, Republic of | 7,899 | 7,270 | -8.0% | 8 |
| Cook Islands | 196 | 213 | 8.7% | -3 |
| Costa Rica | 31,786 | 31,423 | -1.1% | 2 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 11,938 | 11,948 | 0.1% | 5 |
| Croatia | 5,042 | 5,206 | 3.3% | -3 |
| Cuba | 95,031 | 95,385 | 0.4% | |
| Curaçao | 2,057 | 2,123 | 3.2% | -1 |
| Cyprus | 2,659 | 2,600 | -2.2% | 2 |
| Czech Republic | 15,442 | 15,587 | 0.9% | |
| Denmark | 14,644 | 14,669 | 0.2% | |
| Dominica | 428 | 453 | 5.8% | -1 |
| Dominican Republic | 38,606 | 38,286 | -0.8% | 1 |
| Ecuador | 97,168 | 92,752 | -4.5% | 3 |
| El Salvador | 40,900 | 41,424 | 1.3% | |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2,272 | 2,147 | -5.5% | 9 |
| Estonia | 4,036 | 4,053 | 0.4% | -1 |
| Ethiopia | 10,472 | 10,355 | -1.1% | 1 |
| Falkland Islands | 15 | 11 | -26.7% | 18 |
| Faroe Islands | 123 | 130 | 5.7% | -6 |
| Fiji | 3,250 | 3,278 | 0.9% | 1 |
| Finland | 18,324 | 18,372 | 0.3% | |
| France | 129,974 | 128,980 | -0.8% | 1 |
| French Guiana | 2,694 | 2,614 | -3.0% | 3 |
| Gabon | 4,604 | 4,499 | -2.3% | 4 |
| Gambia | 246 | 213 | -13.4% | 7 |
| Georgia | 18,173 | 18,150 | -0.1% | |
| Germany | 165,870 | 165,470 | -0.2% | |
| Ghana | 140,274 | 135,498 | -3.4% | 3 |
| Gibraltar | 128 | 124 | -3.1% | 4 |
| Greece | 28,254 | 28,773 | 1.8% | -1 |
| Greenland | 165 | 173 | 4.8% | -5 |
| Grenada | 595 | 569 | -4.4% | |
| Guadeloupe | 8,332 | 8,207 | -1.5% | 1 |
| Guam | 745 | 726 | -2.6% | 3 |
| Guatemala | 40,490 | 40,222 | -0.7% | 1 |
| Guinea | 1,015 | 929 | -8.5% | 8 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 171 | 170 | -0.6% | 3 |
| Guyana | 3,121 | 3,545 | 13.6% | |
| Haiti | 19,951 | 20,472 | 2.6% | |
| Honduras | 23,430 | 23,106 | -1.4% | |
| Hong Kong | 5,571 | 5,452 | -2.1% | 1 |
| Hungary | 21,412 | 21,853 | 2.1% | -2 |
| Iceland | 387 | 377 | -2.6% | 2 |
| India | 48,615 | 46,996 | -3.3% | 4 |
| Indonesia | 28,283 | 27,475 | -2.9% | 2 |
| Ireland | 7,061 | 6,747 | -4.4% | 2 |
| Israel | 1,808 | 1,707 | -5.6% | 7 |
| Italy | 251,502 | 251,192 | -0.1% | |
| Jamaica | 11,425 | 11,525 | 0.9% | -1 |
| Japan | 212,802 | 213,473 | 0.3% | |
| Kazakhstan | 17,507 | 17,639 | 0.8% | -1 |
| Kenya | 29,860 | 28,222 | -5.5% | 2 |
| Kiribati | 150 | 179 | 19.3% | 5 |
| Korea, Republic of | 101,246 | 100,245 | -1.0% | |
| Kosovo | 262 | 269 | 2.7% | -1 |
| Kosrae | 18 | 19 | 5.6% | -6 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 5,420 | 5,235 | -3.4% | 1 |
| Latvia | 2,216 | 2,278 | 2.8% | -1 |
| Lesotho | 4,248 | 4,067 | -4.3% | 2 |
| Liberia | 7,286 | 6,808 | -6.6% | 3 |
| Liechtenstein | 90 | 89 | -1.1% | -1 |
| Lithuania | 3,026 | 3,056 | 1.0% | -1 |
| Luxembourg | 2,141 | 2,172 | 1.4% | 1 |
| Macao | 346 | 305 | -11.8% | 10 |
| Macedonia | 1,281 | 1,320 | 3.0% | |
| Madagascar | 35,823 | 34,980 | -2.4% | 3 |
| Madeira | 1,152 | 1,119 | -2.9% | 1 |
| Malawi | 95,203 | 93,412 | -1.9% | 5 |
| Malaysia | 5,350 | 5,069 | -5.3% | 4 |
| Mali | 322 | 307 | -4.7% | 4 |
| Malta | 774 | 757 | -2.2% | 6 |
| Marshall Islands | 226 | 188 | -16.8% | -6 |
| Martinique | 4,901 | 4,809 | -1.9% | |
| Mauritius | 1,917 | 1,922 | 0.3% | |
| Mayotte | 177 | 165 | -6.8% | 8 |
| Mexico | 871,339 | 871,207 | 0.0% | 1 |
| Moldova | 19,213 | 19,553 | 1.8% | -2 |
| Mongolia | 459 | 482 | 5.0% | -2 |
| Montenegro | 274 | 271 | -1.1% | |
| Montserrat | 34 | 27 | -20.6% | 24 |
| Mozambique | 64,536 | 59,990 | -7.0% | 6 |
| Myanmar | 4,499 | 4,296 | -4.5% | 4 |
| Namibia | 2,476 | 2,473 | -0.1% | 1 |
| Nauru | 19 | 21 | 10.5% | 6 |
| Nepal | 2,629 | 2,506 | -4.7% | 5 |
| Netherlands | 29,603 | 29,756 | 0.5% | -1 |
| Nevis | 65 | 62 | -4.6% | 5 |
| New Caledonia | 2,489 | 2,383 | -4.3% | 5 |
| New Zealand | 14,301 | 14,150 | -1.1% | |
| Nicaragua | 29,243 | 29,082 | -0.6% | 1 |
| Niger | 332 | 316 | -4.8% | 6 |
| Nigeria | 390,250 | 381,398 | -2.3% | 2 |
| Niue | 22 | 24 | 9.1% | -9 |
| Norfolk Island | 9 | 7 | -22.2% | 17 |
| Norway | 11,745 | 11,652 | -0.8% | 1 |
| Pakistan | 1,140 | 1,109 | -2.7% | 1 |
| Palau | 80 | 85 | 6.3% | -9 |
| Palestinian Territories | 68 | 83 | 22.1% | -18 |
| Panama | 17,780 | 17,620 | -0.9% | 2 |
| Papua New Guinea | 5,141 | 4,291 | -16.5% | 4 |
| Paraguay | 10,750 | 10,413 | -3.1% | 2 |
| Peru | 131,624 | 128,467 | -2.4% | 2 |
| Philippines | 217,220 | 210,914 | -2.9% | 3 |
| Pohnpei | 67 | 68 | 1.5% | -10 |
| Poland | 116,299 | 118,036 | 1.5% | -1 |
| Portugal | 49,299 | 49,466 | 0.3% | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 23,632 | 25,187 | 6.6% | -7 |
| Réunion | 3,380 | 3,270 | -3.3% | 3 |
| Rodrigues | 57 | 53 | -7.0% | 10 |
| Romania | 39,788 | 40,101 | 0.8% | -1 |
| Rota | 12 | 11 | -8.3% | |
| Rwanda | 30,076 | 28,972 | -3.7% | 3 |
| Saba | 11 | 12 | 9.1% | -18 |
| St. Barthélemy | 34 | 34 | 0.0% | -14 |
| St. Eustatius | 30 | 29 | -3.3% | |
| St. Helena | 117 | 115 | -1.7% | 1 |
| St. Kitts | 216 | 217 | 0.5% | -1 |
| St. Lucia | 819 | 783 | -4.4% | 5 |
| St. Maarten | 361 | 344 | -4.7% | 4 |
| St. Martin | 300 | 311 | 3.7% | -9 |
| St. Pierre and Miquelon | 12 | 14 | 16.7% | -23 |
| St. Vincent & the Grenadines | 344 | 344 | 0.0% | -2 |
| Saipan | 217 | 245 | 12.9% | -1 |
| Samoa | 538 | 510 | -5.2% | 6 |
| San Marino | 198 | 191 | -3.5% | 3 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 875 | 831 | -5.0% | 6 |
| Senegal | 1,369 | 1,353 | -1.2% | 3 |
| Serbia | 3,933 | 3,922 | -0.3% | |
| Seychelles | 338 | 341 | 0.9% | -2 |
| Sierra Leone | 2,349 | 2,262 | -3.7% | 3 |
| Slovakia | 11,293 | 11,395 | 0.9% | -1 |
| Slovenia | 1,841 | 1,881 | 2.2% | -2 |
| Solomon Islands | 2,077 | 2,066 | -0.5% | -1 |
| South Africa | 105,232 | 104,395 | -0.8% | 2 |
| South Sudan | 1,697 | 1,334 | -21.4% | 6 |
| Spain | 114,544 | 112,916 | -1.4% | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 6,482 | 6,165 | -4.9% | 5 |
| Sudan | 633 | 703 | 11.1% | -3 |
| Suriname | 3,133 | 3,106 | -0.9% | 2 |
| Swaziland | 3,316 | 3,212 | -3.1% | 1 |
| Sweden | 22,330 | 22,418 | 0.4% | |
| Switzerland | 19,354 | 19,251 | -0.5% | |
| Tahiti | 3,250 | 3,219 | -1.0% | 1 |
| Taiwan | 10,839 | 10,498 | -3.1% | 3 |
| Tanzania | 18,705 | 17,878 | -4.4% | 4 |
| Thailand | 5,170 | 4,868 | -5.8% | 6 |
| Timor-Leste | 366 | 349 | -4.6% | 4 |
| Tinian | 14 | 17 | 21.4% | 8 |
| Togo | 21,755 | 20,683 | -4.9% | 3 |
| Tonga | 209 | 221 | 5.7% | -5 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 10,030 | 9,892 | -1.4% | 1 |
| Turkey | 3,506 | 3,030 | -13.6% | 13 |
| Turks and Caicos | 338 | 384 | 13.6% | 2 |
| Tuvalu | 88 | 125 | 42.0% | -6 |
| Uganda | 8,179 | 7,542 | -7.8% | 7 |
| Ukraine | 138,513 | 140,300 | 1.3% | -6 |
| United States of America | 1,234,877 | 1,232,293 | -0.2% | |
| Uruguay | 11,915 | 11,825 | -0.8% | 1 |
| Vanuatu | 753 | 770 | 2.3% | 3 |
| Venezuela | 148,042 | 149,355 | 0.9% | -3 |
| Virgin Islands, British | 260 | 241 | -7.3% | 3 |
| Virgin Islands, U.S. | 607 | 607 | 0.0% | 1 |
| Wallis & Futuna Islands | 52 | 46 | -11.5% | 15 |
| Yap | 30 | 27 | -10.0% | 4 |
| Zambia | 204,176 | 191,311 | -6.3% | 6 |
| Zimbabwe | 48,278 | 46,440 | -3.8% | 4 |
| 8,356,162 | 8,239,011 | -1.4% | 1.4 |
I excluded the 'other lands' because the peak figure was not published for 2018.
Up until the 1935 teaching was changed, that number was going down. Thereafter, it never stopped going up.Not quite true. From 1953-1969 the number continued to go down every year, halving from 19,183 to 10,360. From 1971-2005 it went down more times than it went up, starting at 10,526 and ending at 8,524. Since then however, it has gone up every year, and at an alarming rate for the GB, more than doubling, now standing at its highest level since they started publishing the figures.
I may be wrong but I think that’s the first time ever that the number of congregations has gone down.
You are not wrong - it's the first decrease since they started publishing the fingures in the Yearbooks.
have they really published the average figure this year
Yes, and they published it last year as well, but in the summary, not the tables.
(say from 65 years of age and older) are highly useless due to their age
Hey man, steady on. I'm 65, and I might be useless, but not "highly" useless!
All large Organizations know how to tweak the numbers to make themselves look good.
I used to work for two accounting firms, back then the major ones fell under the title "The Big 6",
I've worked for E&Y and PWC, they both know how to tweak those numbers and publish many articles saying that they're #1, when neither one of them held that spot. Even the TV companies, ABC, NBC, CBS have a daily war going on about their ratings, especially during the 6:30pm news broadcast. Did you know the anchors have a monitor under their desk while broadcasting live watching the other two networks? Everything is a competition and tweaking those numbers
1.4 % increase 1.1 birthrate. So 3tenths of 1% actual growth!!! So where is all this tremendous growth that neccitates selling off k.h.s to redirect resources where the need is great?
Wow the full numbers are up. Some fascinating developments!
Ireland is in free-fall.
When I was a young pioneer Ireland was the poster-child of growth. The other jewel in the crown was Japan which has flat-lined.
