2003 Watchtower Society Statistics

The following charts are created based on the statistics published each year in the January 1st issue of The Watchtower. Data published from 1988 through 2003 were used.

 

Highlight of 2003 Statistics

This year's Watchtower statistics shows a continuation of the new trend that was started around 2001 when the downward trend of Jehovah's Witnesses' activities of the late 1990's in many developed countries reversed the direction to upward. Last year, there were rather suprising rebounds of publisher's number in USA, Australia, France, Canada, Britain, and Norway. This upward trend seems to become more consistent this year. Countries with consistent decline are only several.

 

The list of countries with zero or negative growth has shrunk in 2003:
Belgium, Britain, Finland, Hongkong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Zimbabwe

 

The interesting exception to the global rebound is again Japan, where the decline of the number of publishers continues. The absolute number of the publishers who stopped preaching in Japan is the largest among the developed countries. The decline of 951 publishers in Japan is by far the largest in the world, (2nd Britain -323, 3rd Finland -191) and even larger than her last year's decline of 895. See here for the growth pattern of Japan. The number of baptism in Japan has also steeply declined.

The overall numbers for the world show very slow increase or almost flat growth for the past several years. Publishers, Bible studies and service hours are very slowly increasing, but the number of baptism does not seem to increase in proportion.

Average number of publishers (shown in green dots scaled on the left axis) and the number of new baptism (shown in red dots scaled on the right axis)

Rate of increase over the previous year (shown in blue bars scaled on the right axis) and average number of publishers (shown in green dots scaled on the left axis).

Total hours of field service (shown in purple squares scaled on the left axis) and the average hours spent by one publisher (shown in white circles scaled on the right axis).

Total number of memorial partakers (anointed) (shown in pink dots scaled on the left axis) and the number of memorial attendance (shown in blue dots scaled on the right axis).

Average number of pioneer publishers (shown in yellow round dots scaled on the right axis) and the number of baptism per one pioneer (shown in purple square dots scaled on the right axis). Note the increase in number of pioneers over the past two years, reflecting the recent policy change in time requirement. Yet their work is getting futile as a less number of people are baptized relative to the number of pioneers in recent years.

Average number of Bible studies (shown in dark blue dots scaled on the left axis) and the number of Bible studies per one publisher (average Bible studies/average publishers) (shown in gray bars scaled on the right axis).

Country profile charts were created based on the size of population and my own personal interest. For example, I have particular interest in the former Soviet Union and Asia and small countries in those areas are included due to my own interest. Click the region you are interested in and view the growth pattern of the average publishers and the number of baptism for the past 15 years in these countries.