Global Evangelization Movement
Pointing the way to the least evangelized

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Status of Global Mission, 2001, in context of 20th and 21st centuries
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Year: 1900 1970 2000 mid-2001 2025
WORLD POPULATION          
1. Total population 1,619,626,000 3,696,148,000 6,055,049,000 6,128,512,000 7,823,703,000
2. Urban dwellers (urbanites) 232,695,000 1,353,370,000 2,881,079,000 2,916,034,000 4,611,677,000
3. Rural dwellers 1,386,931,000 2,342,778,000 3,173,970,000 3,212,478,000 3,212,026,000
4. Adult population (over 15s) 1,074,058,000 2,310,543,000 4,254,647,000 4,328,571,000 5,987,079,000
5. Literates 296,258,000 1,475,194,000 3,261,345,000 3,318,010,000 5,046,637,000
6. Nonliterates 777,800,000 835,349,000 993,302,000 1,010,561,000 940,442,000
WORLDWIDE EXPANSION OF CITIES          
7. Metropolises (over 100,000 population) 300 2,400 4,050 4,100 6,500
8. Megacities (over 1 million population) 20 161 402 410 650
9. Urban poor 100 million 650 million 1,400 million 1,440 million 3,000 million
10. Urban slumdwellers 20 million 260 million 700 million 720 million 1,500 million
WORLD POPULATION BY RELIGION          
11. Christians (total all kinds) (=World C) 558,132,000 1,236,374,000 1,999,564,000 2,024,929,000 2,616,670,000
12. Muslims 199,941,000 553,528,000 1,188,243,000 1,213,370,000 1,784,876,000
13. Nonreligious 3,024,000 532,096,000 768,159,000 774,333,000 875,121,000
14. Hindus 203,003,000 462,598,000 811,336,000 823,843,000 1,049,231,000
15. Buddhists 127,077,000 233,424,000 359,982,000 363,740,000 418,345,000
16. Atheists 226,000 165,400,000 150,090,000 150,447,000 159,544,000
17. New-Religionists 5,910,000 77,762,000 102,356,000 103,313,000 114,720,000
18. Ethnoreligionists 117,558,000 160,278,000 228,367,000 231,335,000 277,247,000
19. Sikhs 2,962,000 10,618,000 23,258,000 23,687,000 31,378,000
20. Jews 12,292,000 14,763,000 14,434,000 14,552,000 16,053,000
21. Non-Christians (=Worlds A and B) 1,061,494,000 2,459,774,000 4,055,485,000 4,103,583,000 5,207,033,000
GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY          
22. Total Christians as % of world (=World C) 34.5 33.5 33.0 33.0 33.4
23. Unaffiliated church members 36,489,000 106,268,000 111,125,000 111,850,000 125,712,000
24. Affiliated church members 521,643,000 1,130,106,000 1,888,439,000 1,913,079,000 2,490,958,000
25. Crypto-Christians 3,571,000 59,195,000 123,727,000 126,421,000 190,490,000
26. Great Commission Christians 77,931,000 277,152,000 647,821,000 657,163,000 887,579,000
27. Church attenders 469,303,000 885,777,000 1,359,420,000 1,373,554,000 1,760,568,000
28. Evangelicals 71,726,000 93,449,000 210,603,000 214,219,000 327,835,000
29. evangelicals 77,931,000 277,152,000 647,821,000 657,163,000 887,579,000
30. Pentecostals/Charismatics 981,000 72,223,000 523,767,000 533,581,000 811,552,000
31. Average Christian martyrs per year 35,600 230,000 165,000 167,000 210,000
MEMBERSHIP BY 6 ECCLESIASTICAL MEGABLOCS          
32. Anglicans 30,571,000 47,501,000 79,650,000 80,717,000 113,746,000
33. Independents 7,931,000 95,605,000 385,745,000 394,102,000 581,642,000
34. Marginal Christians 928,000 11,100,000 26,060,000 26,526,000 45,555,000
35. Orthodox 115,844,000 139,662,000 215,129,000 216,247,000 252,716,000
36. Protestants 103,024,000 210,759,000 342,002,000 346,650,000 468,633,000
37. Roman Catholics 266,548,000 665,954,000 1,057,328,000 1,070,437,000 1,361,965,000
MEMBERSHIP BY 6 CONTINENTS          
38. Africa 8,756,000 117,069,000 335,116,000 343,886,000 600,526,000
39. Asia (new UN definition) 20,759,000 97,329,000 307,288,000 313,795,000 459,029,000
40. Europe (new UN definition) 368,210,000 468,480,000 536,832,000 537,244,000 532,861,000
41. Latin America 60,027,000 263,597,000 475,659,000 483,121,000 635,271,000
42. Northern America 59,570,000 168,932,000 212,167,000 213,893,000 235,112,000
43. Oceania 4,322,000 14,699,000 21,375,000 21,635,000 28,152,000
CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATIONS          
44. Service agencies 1,500 14,100 23,000 23,500 40,000
45. Foreign-mission sending agencies 600 2,200 4,000 4,100 6,000
46. Standalone global monoliths 35 62 80 85 300
CHRISTIAN WORKERS          
47. Nationals (all denominations) 1,050,000 2,350,000 5,104,000 5,154,000 6,500,000
48. Aliens (foreign missionaries) 62,000 240,000 420,000 425,000 550,000
CHRISTIAN FINANCE (in U.S. $, per year)          
49. Personal income of church members, $ 270 billion 4,100 billion 15,198 billion 15,500 billion 26,000 billion
50. Personal income of Pentecostals/Charismatics, $ 250,000,000 157 billion 3,508 billion 3,650 billion 9,500 billion
51. Giving to Christian causes, $ 8 billion 70 billion 270 billion 280 billion 870 billion
52. Churches' income, $ 7 billion 50 billion 108 billion 110 billion 300 billion
53. Parachurch and institutional income, $ 1 billion 20 billion 162 billion 170 billion 570 billion
54. Ecclesiastical crime, $ 300,000 5,000,000 16 billion 17 billion 65 billion
55. Income of global foreign missions, $ 200,000,000 3.0 billion 15 billion 16 billion 60 billion
56. Computers in Christian use (numbers) 0 1,000 400,000,000 424,000,000 1.7 billion
CHRISTIAN LITERATURE          
57. New commercial book titles per year 2,200 17,100 25,000 26,100 70,000
58. Christian periodicals 3,500 23,000 35,000 36,500 100,000
59. New books/articles on evangelization p.a. 500 3,100 16,000 17,100 80,000
SCRIPTURE DISTRIBUTION (all sources)          
60. Bibles per year (p.a.) 5,452,600 25,000,000 53,700,000 56,400,000 180,000,000
61. New Testaments per year (p.a.) 7,300,000 45,000,000 120,700,000 124,300,000 250,000,000
62. Scriptures including gospels, selections, p.a. 20 million 281 million 4,600 million 4,700 million 8,000 million
CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING          
63. Christian radio/TV stations 0 1,230 4,000 4,050 5,400
64. Total monthly listeners/viewers 0 750,000,000 2,150,000,000 2,200,000,000 3,800,000,000
65. for Christian stations 0 150,000,000 600,000,000 619,000,000 1,300,000,000
66. for secular stations 0 650,000,000 1,810,000,000 1,842,000,000 2,800,000,000
CHRISTIAN URBAN MISSION          
67. Non-Christian megacities 5 65 226 229 300
68. New non-Christian urban dwellers per day 5,200 51,100 129,000 131,300 200,000
69. Urban Christians 159,600,000 660,800,000 1,160,000,000 1,178,000,000 1,720,000,000
CHRISTIAN EVANGELISM          
70. Evangelism-hours per year 5 billion 25 billion 165 billion 172 billion 425 billion
71. Hearer-hours per year 10 billion 99 billion 938 billion 1,000 billion 4,250 billion
72. Disciple-opportunities per capita per year 6 27 155 163 529
WORLD EVANGELIZATION          
73. Unevangelized population (=World A) 879,672,000 1,641,245,000 1,629,375,000 1,637,509,710 1,845,406,000
74. Unevangelized as % of world 54.3 44.4 26.9 26.7 23.6
75. World evangelization plans since AD 30 250 510 1,500 1,540 3,000

David B. Barrett, a contributing editor, is Hon. Research Advisor, United Bible Societies, and Research Professor of Missiometrics at Regent University, Virginia Beach. Todd M. Johnson, a YWAM missionary, is director of the World Evangelization Research Center in Richmond, Virginia, and an adjunct professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course.


Source: International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 2001. David B. Barrett & Todd M. Johnson.
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