Data provided in the world-wide church today pages comes from two sources :
The World Churches Handbook is the source for population, christian population, denominational membership and the number of churches. Data is reproduced by kind permission of Peter Brierley. The Handbook is available from Christian Research. Data is extracted on the key measures for 1995 and for 2005. The Handbook uses linear regression to estimate the likely figures for 2005, assuming that current trends continue. In many cases, there is a wealth of historical data that has been used, although in other cases, paucity of data means that guesstimates have to be made. The authors of the World Churches Handbook would be most grateful for any more upto date information that could help the preparation of future editions. Click here to e-mail them.
The 1998 World Population Data Sheet is the source for the population under 15 and over 65 figures, and for the GNP per capita figures. This is available from the Population Reference Bureau.
Data Definitions :
Population figures are taken from the World Churches Handbook, sourced originally from the United Nations.
Christian Population figures are taken as the Christian Community figures from the World Churches Handbook, representing those who belong to that denomination, however loosely. For Anglican, Roman Cahtolic, Luitheran, Orthodox or Presbyterian, this will approximate to the number of baptised in that country, although the number will inevitably include many who are now nominal or notional about their Christianity.
The Denominational Membership figures are taken from the Membership figures quoted in the World Churches Handbook. These figures seek to represent those who have taken some active step to belong to a church. This step will vary from one denomination to another. For the Roman Catholic church, the community figure is their membership, and the figure shown is a percentage of this. This figure is higher than the actual church attendance, for which little reliable data exists.
The Number of Churches is quoted by the World Churches Handbook, and represents the number of places of worship. Again, different denominations will count this in different ways.
Population under 15 and over 65 data are sourced from the 1998 World Population Datasheet, and are latest available figures ie 1998. GNP per capita figures are taken from the same source, and again are latest available figures, but this time from 1996. These data are included to give some context to the Christian and church data.