Clarification of Statistics

• Growth figures. Nearly all statistics of the Watchtower Society have the same profile: moderate increase after the Second World War, explosive growth from the late 1960s until the mid 1970s as a result of the "1975" prophecy, followed by decrease or stagnation until the early 1980s as a result of the prophecy failure. The subsequent recovery was mainly due to powerful growth in Latin America and the lifting of the ban in former Soviet controlled areas in Europe. The latter is clearly demonstrated in the graph of the European growth. Leaving the former communist countries aside, European growth appears to be stagnating from the mid-1990s. Though the worldwide figures indicate continuous growth, its pace is continuously decreasing since the last two decades. This is reflected in the percental growth and baptismal figures. Other examples are the data from North America and Netherlands.

• Continental distribution. The graph demonstrates that the Society is gradually becoming a "Third World Movement". Half a century ago, the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses were dwellers of North America and Europe, the traditional strongholds (the 60% figure for 1956 is probably too low since the 10% banned were likely to reside in Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe). In the 21st century this profile has reversed: 60% is living in non-western areas, 40% in western regions.

• More than 100,000 members. This graph indicates the nations that registered more than 100,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in 2006. More interesting, though, is the situation 25 years earlier. Traditional strongholds such as Germany, the UK and France show a rather moderate increase - the US are an exception - whereas those regions where the Society has established itself much later show a much more powerful growth. Examples are Latin America, Japan and the former communist countries in Europe.

• Proselytizing activity. In general, some Witnesses are more active than others. Variation in activity also appears to be regionally determined. The table presents a breakdown. Note the strong fluctuation around 1975. The average Jehovah's Witness spends approximately 200 hours annually (slightly less than 17 hours each month) on proselytizing. For those in Poland and Slovakia, 110-120 hours suffice whereas their fellow-believers in Japan and South Korea are four times more active. Many factors may explain this huge variation: it appears that somehow GNP is inversely correlated with activity, that is to say, the richer the country from an economic perspective, the less the activity. Obviously, that does not not apply to Japan and Korea so other factors may contribute. Culture may be decisive here, such as traditional Far Eastern Confucianism that prescribes sense of duty, subordination and obedience, whereas Western European secularization seems to have opposite effects on activity. Note the African state Rwanda - the small blue line in the graph. It is possible that the genocide that struck this country in the 1990s has incited the Witnesses to their extensive activity. On the other hand, Slovakia, one of the former communist states where the Society was banned until the early 1990s, shows a continuously declining proselytizing activity. Neighbouring countries Poland and the Czech Republic have a similar low activity rate. The cause is unclear.

• '1975' profile. This is a close-up of growth and decline around the prophetic year '1975'. An increase of 14% active membership and 50% baptized in 1974, the year prior the possible Battle of Armageddon. In 1976 and subsequent years we see the deception: a 1.5% decrease of active membership in 1978 and 35% decrease of baptized in 1977. It should be noted, though, that the '1975' effect varied. Comparing, for example, Italy and Netherlands, the former country was hardly affected by the prophecy in spite of a decrease of baptized.