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As of 2023, Jehovah's Witnesses reported a monthly average membership of approximately 8.6 million actively involved in preaching, with a peak of around 8.8 million.[1] Jehovah's Witnesses have an active presence in most countries, though they do not form a large part of the population of any country.
To be counted as an active member, an individual must be a publisher, and report some amount of time preaching to non-members. Jehovah's Witnesses' preaching activity is self-reported, and members are directed to submit a 'Field Service Report' each month. Baptized members who fail to submit a report every month are termed 'irregular'. Those who do not submit a report for six continuous months are termed 'inactive'.[2]
Membership activity
For 2023, approximately 1.8 billion hours of preaching were reported and around 270,000 new members were baptized. The Watch Tower Society reported that Jehovah's Witnesses conducted about 7.3 million home Bible studies with non-members,[1] including Bible studies conducted by Witness parents with their children.[3][4]
Jehovah's Witnesses' official statistics only count as members those who submit reports for preaching activity, usually resulting in lower membership numbers than those found by external surveys. For example, in 2014 Jehovah's Witnesses reported approximately 1.2 million active publishers in the United States, whereas the Pew Research Center reported that Jehovah's Witnesses make up 0.8% of the US population (approximately 2.5 million) in that year.[5] Their official statistics indicate membership according to various territories—which they refer to as "lands"—many of which are not independent countries.
According to official statistics, about 20.5 million people worldwide attended Jehovah's Witnesses' 2023 observance of the Memorial of Christ's death (also termed the Lord's Evening Meal). Of those, around 22,300 people partook of the memorial emblems of unleavened bread and wine.[1] Those who partake profess to be of the 144,000 "anointed" and hope to go to heaven, based on their interpretation of Revelation 14:1.
Congregations are generally organized geographically, and members are directed to attend the Kingdom Hall to which their neighborhood has been assigned, resulting in an ethnic mix generally representative of local population, though congregations based on language and ethnicity have also been formed.[6][7][8]
2023 statistics
| 'Lands' | Average active publishers | Increase over 2022 | Congregations | Average Bible studies | Memorial attendance | Memorial partakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 239[1] | 8,625,042[1] | 1.3%[1] | 118,117[1] | 7,281,212[1] | 20,461,767[1] | 22,312[1] |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "2023 Grand Totals". Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
- ^ "Keep the Word of Jehovah Moving Speedily". Our Kingdom Ministry: 1. October 1982.
- ^ "Question Box–Should a family Bible study be reported to the congregation?". Our Kingdom Ministry. Watch Tower Society: 3. November 2003.
- ^ "Question Box—May both parents report the time used for the regular family study?". Our Kingdom Ministry: 3. September 2008.
- ^ "Religious Landscape Study". PewResearchCenter.
- ^ "My Love for the Earth Will Be Satisfied Forever". Awake!: 15. August 22, 1998.
Additionally, congregations of Aboriginal people have been formed in Adelaide, Cairns, Ipswich, Perth, and Townsville.
- ^ "My Love for the Earth Will Be Satisfied Forever", Awake!, August 22, 1998, ©Watch Tower, page 12-15
- ^ "I Have Found Many Good Things". The Watchtower: 32. April 15, 2011.
Today, Ibarra has six Spanish-speaking congregations, one Quichua-speaking congregation, and one sign-language congregation