Thanks dark. Did you compile these figures yourself, from individual pages on JW website?
For clarification, I thought 1.4% increase was the summarised worldwide growth in average publishers. Is that wrong? Or is it a coincidence that the increase in average publishers matches the increase in peak publishers for this year?
Using peak figures for growth is not ideal because it's not comparable with previous years. But if it's all we've got we need to make do.
The congregation numbers are really interesting.
There is no change in the figures for Russia. Is this because no report has been produced for 2017 because of the ban?
Lots of interesting figures. So many countries lost congregations. To me that's the most important statistic. But Colombia lost 213 congregations, while growing 1.6% Is that a mistake?
It strikes me once again that two of the countries with the strongest growth, Brazil and Angola, are both Portuguese speaking countries. I wonder if there is any reason for that. Portugal itself is also growing, in contrast to most of Europe.
The decline in Germany is quite amazing. They have lost 41 congregations in a single year, despite massive immigration to Germany over the last few years.
Poland and Japan continue to decline at quite a steady rate.
The massive increase in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year has not been repeated this year.
I am a bit surprised that they continue to grow in Australia despite all the bad publicity.
Netherlands continues to decline. They have been quietly declining for decades now.
The huge loss of congregations in the United States has not really been replicated elsewhere. Perhaps they are following a different policy because most financial gains from consolidation can be realised in the United States. Or maybe the policy of consolidation will be rolled out to other countries in the future.
I wonder why Ukraine is still adding 32 congregations this year when the publisher numbers have been in decline for years.
On the flip side. Tanzania has nearly 1000 more publishers but lost 12 congregations.
South Africa lost 58 congregations. That's pretty huge.