Perhaps, like me, you have often pondered the above question many times. Whether you are a devout Jehovah’s Witness, or a former believer – you will occasionally hear of drastic changes being made by the Society, and wonder whether there is any deeper significance. If you have grown up in the faith, you will have previously entertained the idea that the Society will always be around in some form, and can only conceivably continue to grow and experience “wonderous expansion”. However, we occasionally hear announcements read out at our meetings that somehow don’t fit with our long-held expectations, leaving us baffled and confused.
For example, a letter dated 2nd April was recently read out to all congregations, stating the following (bold is mine):
The Governing Body has noted the growing tendency for people to obtain reading material from the Internet and has carefully weighed the effect this trend is having on the printing industry and on our ability to obtain paper and equipment for printing. Based on these changing conditions, effective with the issues of January 2013, Awake! and the public edition of The Watchtower will be reduced from 32 pages to 16 pages. These magazines that we distribute to the public will continue to provide a rich supply of enlightening material to attract people to the truth of God’s Word. Since each issue will contain less material, it may be possible for more translation teams to be able to translate every issue of Awake! and the public edition of The Watchtower, thus increasing the number of languages in which they are available. The study edition of The Watchtower will continue to be a 32-page magazine.
When we first heard this letter read out, we may have given it little thought, perhaps only the tiniest of nagging doubts. If the Society is expanding, and we need more spiritual food as we edge deeper into the time of the end, then why are the public Watchtower and Awake! magazines essentially being halved? There must be some good reason.
Well, there is a good reason. It is because the Watch Tower Society is in decline, and has been for several years. This may sound shocking, and I don’t intend to upset anyone – but if you read to the end of this article and examine the facts, you will be left in little doubt.
Before we continue, it’s worth reminding ourselves that the Watch Tower Society is first-and-foremost a publishing company, and has been since the days of Charles Taze Russell. Logically therefore, if something was wrong with the Society (i.e., if it was experiencing serious financial difficulties) a telling sign of these problems would be seen in its printing operations. In particular, you would see a significant drop in its printing commitments over a period of time.
At the start of 2005, the total number of pages in a monthly set of magazines was 128. That’s two 32-page Watchtower magazines, and two 32-page Awake! magazines. Later that year, the Society announced that, starting with the January 2006 articles, there would be only one Awake! published per month. That brought the total pages per set of monthly magazines down to 96 pages.
Now we are told that, beginning with the January 2013 articles to be printed later this year, the number of pages will be reduced still further – bringing the total pages per set of monthly magazines down to just 64! Think about that for a moment. In only 7 years, the Society has halved the amount of magazine pages it is committed to printing each month! This raises serious questions among thinking Witnesses, namely…
- If we are truly living in the final part of the last days, why has the Society so drastically reduced the amount of spiritual food it is providing each month?
- If 64 pages is the correct amount of magazine pages for us to receive from the Faithful Slave, does that mean that for all those decades when we had 128 pages we were receiving too much spiritual food?
- Can Jehovah truly be blessing this organization if it no longer has the resources to fulfil its regular printing commitments?
Each one must reach his or her own conclusions to the above questions, but there can be little doubt that something is going badly wrong for the Watch Tower Society, and the underlying reason can be found right in front of us – in our worldwide report.
Back in the 80s, the Society had a growth rate of between 5 and 7%. This continued until 1996, when the growth rate dipped to 4.4%. The following two years, the growth rate hovered at 3.6% before reaching only 2% in 1999. Since then, the growth has mostly stuttered between 2 and 3%, dipping as low as 1.3% in 2004. You are encouraged to check these figures for yourself in the yearbooks.
When we analyze the latest worldwide report for 2011, we see an interesting picture emerge that explains why the Society is experiencing so many difficulties. Firstly, we see that the Society is especially struggling in lands where people have better access to the internet, whereas in lands with virtually no access to the internet, they are expanding at a greater rate.
This is depicted for us in the following graph, which I produced not long ago after checking the internet penetration data for the countries mentioned in the worldwide report. “Internet penetration” refers to the amount of internet subscribers in a given country expressed as a percentage of the total population, and this information is easily found online. Once known, the internet penetration figures can be directly compared with the Society’s published growth figures, and the results are quite astonishing. The graph below shows a clear correlation in which countries with hardly any internet experience faster growth (as much as 4.58% average growth in countries with between zero and 9.99% internet penetration) whereas countries with high internet access experience slower growth (as little as 0.92% in countries with between 90 and 100% internet penetration). The data used to calculate these figures may be found by clicking here.
Even if we choose to completely ignore the influence of the internet, there is still a notable financial imbalance in the countries experiencing growth. Last year, the overall global increase over 2010 was a meager 2.4%. When you dissect that figure according to whether the separate countries are developed (richer) or developing (poorer), you immediately notice a disparity. 34 of the countries mentioned by the Society are recognized by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) as being developed, or advanced economies. The average growth rate for these 34 wealthier countries was only 1.2%.* Contrast that with an average of 3.09% for the 116 developing countries mentioned, and you soon realize where the problem lies.#
Put simply, the Society relies on donations in order to operate, and the main source of donations is inevitably from publishers in wealthier lands. However, not only is the growth slowing down in these countries (thanks in part to the internet), but the ever-dwindling donations received from these regions must also be spent on servicing the expansion in poorer countries of the third world, where the local publishers are unable to finance the printing of their own literature, or the building of their own kingdom halls. This financial model is completely unsustainable. What you have is…
- The slow growth in wealthier countries dragging down the worldwide growth rate that is fueled by relative expansion in poorer countries.
- The poverty of publishers in poorer countries (experiencing growth) draining the dwindling donations from wealthier countries that are experiencing slow growth.
Not only is the Society unable to function in the longterm with this state of affairs, they are already experiencing a negative impact as the money starts to dry up. This has resulted in drastic measures being taken to reduce costs, abandon expansion plans, and gather in funds from anywhere they can think of. This is partly why the magazine printing commitments have been slashed in such a relatively short period of time.
There is another indicator of the apparent decline of the Watch Tower Society, and this may be found in its recent spate of branch closures and property “fire sales”. I will discuss this in greater detail in the next blog article, which will hopefully give further evidence of what the future holds for this once proud organization.
* The 34 developed countries to which I refer are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United States (incl. Hawaii).
# The 116 developing countries to which I refer are: Albania, Angola, Antigua, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Chuuk, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosrae, Kyrgzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nevis, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Pohnpei, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuala, Yap, Zambia, Zimbabwe. This list does not include 8 countries listed by the IMF as newly emerging economies, namely: Brazil, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey (for which the average growth figure was 2.97%). There was also a total of 48 states and islands quoted on the worldwide report that have not been given an official status by the IMF, not to mention the 30 “other lands” that are unidentified by the Society.
Actually, I’ve learnt that the organization will prosper financially as long as Jehovah wants it so. When Jehovah doesn’t need the organization anymore (when Armageddons time is ripe), he will cut off financial support. And that makes even sense.
“If you have grown up in the faith, you will have previously entertained the idea that the Society will always be around in some form, and can only conceivably continue to grow and experience “wonderous expansion”.
That makes no sense and I’ve never heard of that. JW is a religion that believes in an end of this current material system, so the organization, supposedly used by God today, has to end, too, when it is no longer needed. The organization has a divine purpose, they believe. And when you reach a purpose……you don’t need the medium that led to the purpose anymore, right?
Hello David, thank you for visiting us. I hope you’ve voted on our survey!
You sound from your comments like you’re already able to see that the organization is not being directed by God, although you sound uncertain as to whether this is the case. This makes it quite difficult for me to answer your comment.
You say: “I’ve learnt that the organization will prosper financially as long as Jehovah wants it [to].” I would argue that, if the Society has ever said this, then it is always with the proviso that they are the ones who determine whether or not Jehovah is allowing them to prosper, and invariably they give the impression that he is, and will continue to do so at least until the Great Tribulation.
I would encourage you to do more research into the organization’s history to see whether there is evidence that it has EVER been used as a tool by God. Some of the writings of Ray Franz are very helpful in this regard, particularly his book “Crisis of Conscience”.
On WT mags of days gone by they used to quote inside the front page something like, “All the gold & silver is mine, says Jehovah, & when He no longer supplies this magazine will cease to exist…” or words to that effect. I think the Lord is finally keeping the gold & silver to himself, lol.
Shocking re the 16-page mags, & 1-Awake per month, & no more Book studies, etc. Unbelievable “progress” toward oblivion!
Perhaps not being a Non Governmental Organization with the United Nations Department of Public Information any more has effected the amount of timely information available to print now.
Wake up, David, The organisation is sick because it is based upon man made ideas that change as men die out and new men are put into “power”. I feel so sorry for all those that have wasted their lives in a sick organisation peopled with needy, desperate people. Wake up and breath freedom.
kool ade might be the only answer, they have commited suicide, cutting sizes of magizines, laying off at Bethel, lowering the hours for pioneers, baptizing at younger ages,permitting parts of blood, cutting the book study out, cutting out the ministry school, selling branches, trying to build Warwick doing away with a lot of traveling overseers, and there is more so I can only try to give a honest answer,and if kool ade is the way out then let the partakers start on a Wednesday when the gb meets. Let the gb start the kool ade episode and they lead by example. May God have mercy on their souls because they showed no mercy on others. Kool ade is less messy than a gun,so let the action begin.
Well, correlation isn’t causation. While the internet penetration seems like one plausible factor, it’s pretty obvious that countries with more internet access also tend to have other things in common (higher GDP, healthcare, stable democratic systems, etc.) Plus, it’s also a well-known fact that for several decades there has been a strong trend to secularisation all over Europe and many developed countries in general (not so sure about the US in this respect).
The JWs thrive in places where the “religions market” is booming in general, and they stagnate or decline where it’s fading. That’s because they’re just another silly fundamentalist group like many others :)
There is a saying, “You can fool some of the people some of the time; But not all of the people all of the time”!
And this as become true of the WTBTS! It as used interesting
tactics to fool people by ‘new light’ and doctrinal amendments!
Yet, unlike the WT, God does not change as the bible says!
Therefore, people realize the errors put forth by the teachings of the WT. It’s spite over the severe punishment of disassociated & disfellowshipped members, for turning their backs on a failing cult.
God was never with them!
I am glad to see the watchtower slowly crumbling, it will be slow and painful. However these events will not convince any witness, either cognitive dissidence will set in or like some I know they just want to believe no matter what evidence is presented
I for one believe the Internet is the reason for many leaving, it was for me.
I live in one of the developing ‘poor’ countries but the internet still helped me awaken…I’m only mentally out for obvious reasons…in developing countries ,especially in urban areas,the internet is becoming more accessible…it’s only a matter of time.
Excellent research and a very interesting article. The only obvious point you missed was to explain why there is slower growth in the internet saturated countries; presumably because people in those countries are learning about the organisations ‘dirty laundry’ via via the internet. Isn’t it ironic that the Society has said getting information off the internet is the reason for reducing the number of pages of the magazines!
The society can be likened to an organism, which has a life cycle of its own. Its starts as a seed of truth, and becomes corrupted with some viral elements, parasitic influences and so on. It wears down and withers over time. During its lifespan it experiences pleasure and pain (witnesses derive both positive and negative from it, as with any religion). It shines with some truth but most is obscured in darkness and deceit. As spirit only thrives in truth and light, the more the governing body lies to itself and others over time, the more it shrinks and dies. The universe must expand, grow and thrive, and anything blocking truth and light naturally shrinks down and contracts. In a nutshell – kharma.
So, we’ve moved past Jehovah speeding things up in his own time… great! I probably missed the bit where the counterpoint was also scripturally stated. Honestly, it’s war! war! and when it’s not that it’s ‘cries of peace and security’ and now it’s Jehovah winding down the organisation in advance of Armageddon!
The society has always published the need for ‘elders’ to be on hand post-Armageddon to organise and rebuild. After *that* we might wind things down. Otherwise you’re just ignoring the society’s own statements and avoiding the obvious.
I’m from the ‘1975’ generation and some of us Witnesses are ‘enlightened’ and see what is really going on. I know I’m not the only one. But, I also know there are quite a few out there [my mother-in-law] that doesn’t even want to hear NEWS reports that are negative towards the organization
Regarding the WTB&TS recent news about them putting up the Patterson complex…..I’ve actually heard ones within their organization [even higher ups] say that they believe Jehovah God will rescue them and their organization from this persecution!!!!
Amazing!
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Governing Body genuinely believed that. Their strange desire to put up Patterson for the bond might be their response to what they perceive as a test of faith. The more I learn about the individual Governing Body members, the more I realise they are actually just as misled as their followers. They have bought into their own publicity.
I saw David’s comments, who is clearly the only one in the thread still in the org, and all I could feel is pity.
JW’s are so deluded, they will take any fact, regardless of what it is, and somehow bend it into this being Gods organization. The governing body does it with scriptures and with history all the time. Anything can be used to support their cause regardless of what it is.
David, does it really make sense that god would be shrinking the organization — his ONLY earthly organization mind you — as part of his plan before Armageddon? Common, have some self-respect man.
Read your own Proclaimers book and take note of what was being taught during ‘Christs’ inspection’ in 1919 – would he have chosen the watchtower as his ‘faithful slave’ based on the ‘spiritual food’ they were teaching then?
I nearly went back after a 13 year absence. I am so glad I did some research on the internet and discovered the real truth about the organisation. I won’t be fooled twice.
I was born and raised a JW, baptized at 10 but left as an adult. I am still in shock when I realize how much I was lied to. Great site! I hope and pray active witnesses use the internet to break free from there bondage.
as incredibly as it sounds the biggest increase inthe org was the number of the so called anointed ones, which looks like a joke, the idea is the end wil draw near when the number of thr other sheeps start dwindling, but if it is biggest growth, houston we have problem!
I really have ALLOT of questions, and if any of you were or are a JW you can understand how hard this can be, dont want any hate on the JW just answers, honest answers if that ok.
Hi Danny. The aim of this website has never been to spread hatred of JWs – purely to help them see that the things they are taught do not make sense, and the Watchtower especially is promoting harmful teachings. Hopefully you can verify the information for yourself and see that it is accurate. If you need personal assistance, I will do my best to help but my time is limited. My email address is cedars@jwsurvey.org
Thanks, i probably do need to do some more research, but so far its kinda scary. And i just think on what to do now.? got to think a bit more, i do appreciate any other info you might give me
The plain truth is this false propheting self righteous oriented society of people are being exposed for who they truly are. My son a former jw said for years that the decline of that religion would come via the internet. These days anyone with access to a computer Googles everything and anything to do with everything and everything. It has been a way for people to research anything to death. While some may need to take what is said at times with a grain of salt, the collective concensus of truth rings out with any subject researched in regard to the teachings and operations of the WTBS. Just like you can perform a backround check on just about anybody with a valid ss# or even their name alone so it goes with checking out a religion who comes knocking on your door proclaiming salvation ONLY by being part of their society. So when you flood a 3rd world society with religious magazines with no ability to test the words,idea’s or otherwise then you are only getting one side of the story or their take on what they think. Then when you couple it with false promises, Presto a conversion has been acheived. Sadly most of those folks have nothing to begin with financially or education wise anyway. My sons Mom would tell him you don’t need to go to college as this is satans system. Well he made his stand for himself and got a masters degree in well you guessed it Psycology. I often wondered if he chose this major in order to de-program himself from all the WTBS brainwashing they do. He is now a Data Scientist working for the ex cio of GOOGLE. How ironic. He has remained a Christian and always quotes John 14:6 and puts his hope in our redeemer Jesus Christ and not some fallible man made organization. So his words have come true in regards to the internet bringing this false religion down in time.
He is certainly not a christian witness, but a slave to christendom. Religion is a snare and a racket.
Wake up and see the reality of the religion who has professed the time of the end more then any other religion known to man. They are a self proclaimed Prophet of God and because of their many Prediction’s in the name of God they have come up short and so according to Deut. 18 they are a False Prophet in God’s eye’s. Remember God see’s the heart and is the eternal judge of all of us not any man made organization.
What are they so afraid of? If they really trusted in God why the need for these paranoid threats and actions? I firmly believe that those of the rank and file who are true Christians will be sustained by God and will come to see that other Christians are their brothers. In fact I believe the time will come when other Christians will have to come to their aid and sustain them through the deep crisis which the Watchtower hierarchy will face and rightly so. It makes me sad though that the hierarchy has been able to get away with inflicting so much hurt and pain especially on victims of child abuse and the many who are shunned by their families and (so called) friends simply for having the courage (or desperation) to walk away.
Many people in this world really don’t realize the devastating effects of brainwashing and how hard it is to overcome deep ingrained thoughts and ideologies that have built up in the mind. There are special deprograming therapy’s targeted especially for religious brainwashing. Sometimes people need to really be de-programed in order to escape totally from such effects.
latest news is that, district overseers are going to be no more. the good ones will be made circuit overseers. see link for letters (http://jwleaks.org/boe-letters/)
nice piece. thumbs up!
It is becoming obvious that the GB is short of money,my bro in law who is involved heavily in Kingdom Hall maintenance in the Sydney area told me how nearly all of the halls built in the early 80s by the quick build method are now suffering serious structural problems especially with their roofs,which has put the org in a difficult position,do we sell them or renovate them?because only some of the repair bill can be paid by the congs involved which at last count was over 70 in the Sydney area alone.
This is costing a lot of $ and the bulk of it is paid by the org not the congs as they are all poor window cleaners living in a very expensive city lol
My bro in law even told me that RBC is now no more and all materials for hall construction and repair are now going to be purchased by Brooklyn from China,no more supply by local brothers.
This doesn’t suprise me as many have been rorting the system
For instance where I live on the south side of Melbourne,it was arranged that we would share the money raised by the sale of the Kingdom Hall in a neighbouring cong,which we would get after they built their new hall,all sounds good ,the problem was that they went $100,000 over budget,the spending included a $3000 coffee machine,multiple mirrors over $1000 each,they just went wild with money which meant we had to cut back on our hall considerably .
This kind of thing is what the boys in Brooklyn are clamping down on as that kind of waste is not affordable anymore as the western world is not so keen anymore to part with their $,it’s just a matter of time when the org will collapse finacially
Money wise i doubt it, im sure they wont be making as much but they aren’t struggling with it, i feel it more of a stingy move :P then again im trying to know more about this, im still a JW so i dont know how to deal with what im learning from this page, dont know what to believe yet.
To Drake
I am new to this too & I can tell you that you will end up seeing the reality of this religion soon. I went through an emotional upheaval when I came to my realisation 6 months ago but I feel free & in a better place mentally & emotionally for it now. I hope that you have support. Take Care. Gwen
What were your thoughts when dealing with this? Cus no, i have no support, i live in Mexico now and religion has an even greater impact in the lives of people, its scary very scary. I’m not sure if i just want an excuse or if i really want to know the truth. Thats why i came here a few months ago, and i would really appreciate any kind of support, info, whatever any of you have to offer.
Hi Drake I tried to post a comment before & didn’t go through. I hope this one does. It was very hard for a couple of months to find out that I have been lied to for the past 20yrs of my life as I had invested a lot of emotion into this religion after losing our only child. For support, I have family that aren’t JW’s so they have been my run to for support but I haven’t been able to open up to them about my thoughts yet so I joined a gardening club & volunteer for a hospice. It has helped me to reintegrate into society with people who are caring & non-judgemental. That has been a real healing for me.
Drake, give yourself permission to read the other side of the story. I looked at it this way, I was obedient for 20years not looking at anything outside of WT but always felt that there was something wrong with that. A fair judge takes both matters into consideration then sums up the information appropriately. There are links on the side of the site for help & support on forums if you need to express more. Personally I like this site & JWfacts.
Thanks, will do, man its kinda frightening to think of how my life could change =/ but thanks, i’ll look at everything, the thing is, i think i know enough to know what is going on in the the WT but i’m not sure how to act, i mean, why leave the organization? isn’t every other religion the same in one way or another? Why not just secretly disagree and play with the cards that were handed to me? =/ anyway thanks for taking some time to answer my coments.
If playing along is what feels safer for you then that maybe what you need to do. I can honestly say that pretending made me miserable. You see, my husband was an MS with good standing & popular while I struggled internally before I couldn’t take anymore & blurted out how I felt. I was snappy & depressed & just slipped further into misery. When I finally spoke up he admitted that he had the same doubts. It was like the weight of the world had lifted off me.
Take Care Drake.
I wanted to say to Drake,when it comes to truth the only thing that needs understanding is the ransom and its legal apparatus which is the new covenant.
The ransom disproves the trinity,immortal soul,hell a place of torment,it also disproves the 144000,the great crowd,that a divine education can remove sin,that Gods approval comes through an organisation,that any human can give you Gods approval amongst other things.If you want to know how I can explain
I just believe that people nowadays, especially the younger generations are open-minded, use the internet, and are so less bias than their parents and grandparents. In part this is due to the expansion of multi-ethnic and biracial marriages. Kids are being informed more than misinformed. Kids are doing research on the internet and they are not being brainwashed that easily as our parents and grandparents were. The JW’s are a cult. If they really lived by the premise of loving your neighbor as yourself, they wouldn’t ban you from having a close relationship with a relative who is not a JW. Add to that the fact that they live self-righteous, sanctimonious and hypocritical lives. Sorry guys but people are starting to open their eyes and I honestly believe that this cult will come to an end. Look up who was Charles Taze Russell. And look up the 101 lies taught by them and the mind control they exert over the poor sheep who never studied their christian doctrine and ended up in their claws. People are just not buying it. A lot has to do with the internet. You have a lot of information at the tip of your fingers. I am glad people are waking up. No more cult or mind control.
I was a Bethelite in the early ’80’s after regular pioneering for 8 years. Strangely enough, I went to Bethel to confirm/refute what I already strongly suspected, that the Society was a well-disguised “religion” that had its own agenda.
Freddy was treated as a “rock star” by the majority of the young, as he was an original, one-of-a-kind personality. I loved the guy, despite being self-deluded about the importance of the Borg to the rest of the world.
The end of the Borg as we knew it was when the tax shoe dropped — the Government showed up at 124 wanting money from their income since the Borg wasn’t (up to that time) claiming to be a religion in the US. Didn’t want to pay to Caesar (like Jesus commanded, BTW) when he requested — so they became a religion officially and made everyone become a beggar for donations.
The Borg’s day is done, but it can take a long time for it to stop moving. Look at the Mennonites, Quakers, Amish, Hutterites, etc. They’re still around and will continue because ultimately Religions are about money and control.
Religions that invest and control money well stay around longer. The Borg doesn’t have many money geniuses around them, especially ones that they listen to.
Thanks for the great article.
-Truth is not a Religion- Bart
I began studying with Jehovah’s Organization in March 2013, so I am still relatively new to it. But I must observe that worldwide, the advent and rapid growth of the Internet has changed forever the way in which information is disseminated. The Watchtower Society has had to adapt to this sea change, like all others who publish. Therefore: less in print, more online. I still see incredibly enthusiastic evangelism on the part of Witnesses I know and reflected in the statistics they also collect and publish on that. Are they actually going downhill – or simply adapting to the immense change the Internet represents?
What you have to look at is the overall growth rate. As the chart above shows, in lands where there is much availability of Internet access, their growth barely keeps up with the general population increase. They may seem enthusiastic to evangelize, but mere enthusiasm must be weighed against effectiveness, not to mention accuracy of teachings. Other groups are just as, if not more so, enthusiastic to preach, and often more effective. See http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/preach.php
WS
You left out Brazil the 5th largest country in the world. How could you?