DAWN Fridayfax 1995 #33

Worldwide statistics plus news from Mexico

Summary of Worldwide Christianity

Year 1988 2000 (estimates) ---------------------------------------------------------------- World population 5.13 billion 6.16 billion Christians of all churches 1.69 billion 2.13 billion Evangelicals 400 million 700-800 million Christian churches 2.5 million 6.8 million Moslems 888 million 1084 million Buddhists 316 million 386 million Han Chinese 967 million 1180 million Animists 208 million 253 million Urban population 43% 48% Sources: AD2000 Research Task; Niyi Gbade; Bob Waymire; Ralph Winter; David Barrett; Patrick Johnstone

Development of Evangelical Christianity

A comparison of the West and the Two-Thirds World (23W)

The West includes Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The Two-Thirds World (23W) is everything else.

Year    Total   West     23W     West 23W
        (Mil)   (Mil)   (Mil)     %    %
-----------------------------------------
  34      0.02    0.001   0.019    1   99
 100      0.5     0.25    0.25    50   50
1000      1.4     1.33    0.07    95    5
1800     34      33.66    0.34    99    1 
1900     60      54.6     5.4     91    9
1950     80      57      23       71   29
1960     90      60      30       67   33			 
1975    150      75      75       50   50
1980    192      82     110       47   53
1985    250      90     160       36   64
1988    400      93     307       23   77
1995    560     100     460       18   82
2000    750     120     630       16   84

Evangelical Christianity has exploded in the last 30 years. From 1975 to 1995 alone, the last 20 years, their number has increased by 410 million and thereby almost quadrupled in half a generation. The total now stands at 560 million, up from 150 million in 1975. Reliable sources say that around 94,000 people are currently becoming Christians each day. In 1960, it was true to say that the West was mostly Christian, and the rest of the world mostly heathen. That has now changed completely.

The following developments can be seen:

The number of Evangelicals is growing 3 times as fast as the world population The fact that an ever growing percentage of the world population are Evangelical Christians is something which can no longer be overlooked, according to Ralph D. Winter at the U.S. Centre for World Mission in Pasadena (California). Conservative estimates made by David Barrett (Atlanta), the leader of the Statistics working group of the Lausanne Movement and publisher of the World Christian Encyclopaedia, show that Evangelical Christians make up around 10 percent of the world population of 5.6 billion.
By far the largest group (82%) of Evangelical Christians live outside the West The spiritual balance of the world has changed dramatically.

Evangelicals as percentage of population

(1995 figures)

EUROPE

 Switzerland               2.1
 Germany                   1.8
 England                   6.0
 Romania                   9.0
 Austria                   0.6
 France                    0.63
 Italy                     0.6
 Spain                     0.34

CENTRAL AMERICA Guatemala 43.0 El Salvador 53.6 Saint Vincent 24.9 SOUTH AMERICA Brazil 25.0 Argentina 7.0 Chile 21.6 AFRICA Central African Republic 28.0 Kenya 26.5 Egypt 0.7 Ethiopia 9.6 Nigeria 14.0 Malawi 8.4 Uganda 24.9 Zaire 17.6 ASIA China ca. 10 South Korea 25.0 Brunei 1.17 Singapore 3.6 India 0.8

Source: AD-2000 Research; David Barrett; Lance Lambert/Dr.Jonathan Chao; DAWN Research.

Mexico: A Cacique becomes a Christian

Evangelical Christians in Mexico suffer permanent harassment and occasionally open persecution, particularly in rural areas of the mostly Catholic country. The countryside is the Caciques' Kingdom - the Kingdom of the Village Chiefs. Christians who refuse alcohol are a particular thorn in the flesh of these chiefs, who have often built themselves an empire by maintaining a monopoly over alcohol sales. One of the country's greatest persecutors of Christians, Chief Manuel San Juan, recently became a Christian himself, and is now trying to reach the other chiefs with the gospel.

Source: Open Doors

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