The
GlobalTitheIndex
2011
ClaudeRichli
TableofContents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4 Recent developments .................................................................................................................. 5 The Instrument and its Technicalities ....................................................................................... 8 The Formula................................................................................................................................ 9 Factors that affect the results .................................................................................................... 11 Using and interpreting the numbers.......................................................................................... 12 The value of the ratio............................................................................................................. 13 Statistical sources ................................................................................................................... 13 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 15 Remarks on the GTI 2011 and Trend Analysis 2002 – 2011 ................................................... 16 Introductory remarks............................................................................................................. 16 The GTI Ratios and Rankings of these Ratios...................................................................... 20 The number of countries in different categories ................................................................... 20 The largest contributors .................................................................................................... 24 The GTI by division.................................................................................................................. 29 The East-Central Africa Division ......................................................................................... 31 TheEuro‐AsiaDivision ....................................................................................................... 33 The Euro-Africa Division ..................................................................................................... 36 The Inter-American Division................................................................................................ 37 The North-American Division .............................................................................................. 40 The Northern Asia Pacific Division...................................................................................... 43 The South-American Division.......................................................................................... 45 The Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division.................................................................. 48 The South Pacific Division................................................................................................ 52 The Southern Asia Pacific Division ................................................................................. 54 The Southern Asia Division.............................................................................................. 57 2|Page
The Trans-European Division .......................................................................................... 59 The West-Central African Division ................................................................................. 60 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 64 Global Tithe Index 2011 ........................................................................................................ 65 GTI Trendline ......................................................................................................................... 68 Ten Highest Tithe per Capita ............................................................................................... 72 Tithes by Divisions 2002-2011................................................................................................. 73 3|Page
Introduction
The Global Tithe Index is an instrument that facilitates country-by-country comparisons
of tithe returns on a basis that puts all countries on an equal footing.
This project started in 2003 when I was the associate executive secretary of the new
East-Central Africa Division. As the Division came into existence, questions relating to
the potential for self-sufficiency of the Church in Africa came up. Specifically, the
question was asked: How faithful are the African Church members in relationship to
members in other parts of the world? How do we assess this when considering the huge
economic disparities that exist between Africa and other regions?
The first project was completed in April 2004 with statistics from the Seventh-day
Adventist Statistical Report 2002 and the CIA Factbook 2003 (with statistics for 2002). The
present edition is the eighth; it examines statistics for the year 2011 and now offers a
perspective for the last 10 years.
To mark this milestone and make the instrument more relevant and accurate, countries
that have a membership of less than 1,000 members have been culled out of the list.
This is to be consistant with our findings that countries with a small sample
(membership) are much more subject to a number of factors that significantly skew
their statistics: their finances (tithes) may vary widely from year to year due to external
contributions, and the makeup of their membership is less likely to reflect the
demographic and economic profile of the country’s population. While seven countries
were taken out, seven new countries have been added. They had been overlooked in the
initial listings mostly because of their small size, even though their membership is
greater than 3,000. Their Global Tithe ratios for the past 10 years have been calculated
and incorporated into a revised “Trendline 2002-2011”, so that administrators may be
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able to appreciate these countries’ progresses and challenges as well as those of the
countries that have comprised the roster since the beginning.
Recentdevelopments
In the course of the past 10 years, I entered a partnership with the Adventist
International Institute for Advanced Studies (AIIAS), in Cavite, Silang, in the
Philippines, one of the tertiary training institutions operated by the General Conference
of Seventh-day Adventists. This institution lends me expertise and critical insights
through its professors in the Graduate School. Dr. Kenneth Swansi, an associate
professor of business in the Business Department has been very helpful by reviewing
and further developing the analysis contained in the Global Tithe Index. Dr. Ronald
Vyhmeister, director of development for the university, serves as consultant.
This partnership makes the GTI into an instrument of greater use and effectiveness for
Adventist administrators and policymakers around the world. Its value has also been
recognized by the Annual Graduate School Forum of AIIAS where I presented a paper
in November 2012 under the title: The Global Tithe Index, what does it say about the
Church?
An improved formula
Until 2009, the ratio was an abstract number. In 2010, the mathematical formula was
improved to show the percentage of total tithe contributed compared to a theoretical
total potential tithe of one hundred percent. Data from previous years have been
restated to facilitate year-to-year comparisons and trend analyses.
A new technology
In addition, in order to make this tool easier to consult, it is available on a website at
http://www.aiias.edu/gti/, operated by the Asia Pacific Research Centre, a study
center operated by AIIAS. The Global Tithe Index, as well as reports and statistics from
past years, are available for downloading. In addition, other documents produced by
scholars and interested parties, featuring statistical analysis of giving patterns and
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trends in the Church, will be featured on this website. In 2012, over 1,600 visitors from
116 countries availed themselves of this tool.
I no longer work for the East-Central Africa Division, but still remain keenly interested
in patterns and world trends in the area of giving.
Others share my interest. Jean-Luc Lézeau, former associate director of the Stewardship
Department of the General Conference has joined me in improving this instrument
through his comments, analysis and editorial work. He assisted me to produce a study
for the North American Division of the General Conference, for which we produced The
US Tithe Index, An Analysis of Tithe-giving Patterns in the Unions and Conferences of the
United States, 2005-2010 (2012).
I also need to mention Dr. Nancy Vyhmeister, who is a great help with the editorial and
proofreading work, and Raimond Luntungan for creating the website. My thanks go to
all of them for their invaluable contributions.
Please note that while I now work for the General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists, the GTI Report is not produced by the General Conference or specifically
for the General Conference. Neither has it been endorsed by the General Conference. It
remains a private undertaking that has proven of value to Seventh-day Adventist
administrators and scholars.
My aim is to obtain as balanced a picture as possible of tithing patterns around the
world through analysis and research. This is further enhanced by correspondence with
local treasurers and administrators and I always welcome their input and tithe statistics
expressed in local currencies, as this information removes the potentially misleading
foreign exchange factor. All other comments to help shed additional light are naturally
also welcome.
For questions or comments, please write to Claude Richli at [email protected] or
Kenneth Swansi at [email protected].
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Claude Richli
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The Instrument and its Technicalities
The Global Tithe Index (GTI) is an instrument that provides an objective means of
comparing the level of tithe giving in one country with that of another country, taking
into account the respective level of economic activity and prosperity of each country. It
is not meant to be used to motivate church members to tithe more faithfully, but as a
management tool to help instruct policy and make decisions on the proper deployment
of stewardship education resources at union, division, and General Conference level.
The GTI helps focus on various regions by making comparisons with countries in the
same geographical area and by uncovering trends over time. With adjustments made
for inflation and currency exchange rates, the GTI also makes possible a comparison
across time by eliminating issues that would seem to make the tithe vary in a study of
giving over time. Unless demographics or the instrument change (changed assessment
of the country), the GTI values will change only through better faithfulness or by doing
a serious audit of church books.
Because it is very difficult to compare tithe giving between countries which have great
economic disparities, this instrument tries to level the field by using a common
economic indicator, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, and comparing it
with the aggregate tithe volume per country, divided by the number of members (tithe
per capita). This approach builds on the following premises:

The GDP per capita represents a broadly based economic indicator of the average
economic activity of all inhabitants. It suggests the average value of goods and
services bought and sold in a given country for each inhabitant. The GDP shows
the magnitude of the economic activity of the average individual. While it is not
the same as the average per capita income, it provides an objective measurement
to compare income in different countries, based on the magnitude of what their
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citizens consume and the wealth they generate as an average for their national
collectivity.

The GDP statistics use the Purchasing Power Parity method. Purchasing Power
Parities (PPPs) are currency conversion rates that convert figures to a common
currency and equalize the purchasing power of different currencies. In other
words, in the process of conversion, they eliminate the differences in price levels
between countries.
This further smoothes out the terms of comparison, as
inflation factors are taken into account. This is the preferred method when
trying to compare standards of living in different countries.

Long-term fluctuations of exchange rates are also factored in through this
method, although significant short-term fluctuations will cause temporary
distortions. These are taken into account in the narrative by comparing average
exchange rate to the dollar between the previous and the current year.

Tithe per capita reflects how much the average Seventh-day Adventist church
member reports earning in a given year. If we multiply the figure by ten, it
should theoretically reflect the wealth Adventist members have generated for
themselves and, to a large extent, show what they consume in order to live.

The GDP per capita and the Tithe per capita for each country stand in a given
relationship called the Global Tithe Index. This relationship fluctuates, and is
dependent on several factors. One of these, presumably the most important, is
the level of faithfulness of the members in each country. For instance, if the
average tithe per capita were 100 USD both in the U.S. and in Haiti, it is obvious
that members in the U.S. would thereby show much less faithfulness, since Haiti
is a much poorer country than the U.S.
TheFormula
The formula works on the assumption that based on the Gross Domestic Product per
capita according to the Purchasing Power Parity method, 10 percent of that Gross
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Domestic Product per capita should be contributed to the church by the members taken
as a whole, which translates into a certain amount, equivalent to the Total Tithe
Potential (TTP).
The ideal, where all members would give a faithful tithe, would
theoretically translate into a ratio of 100 percent of the Total Tithe Potential. The
formula shows what percentage of the Total Tithe Potential members in a given country
actually contribute.
The higher the percentage, the closer they are to 100 percent
faithfulness.
This ideal faithfulness is indicated in the column called Total Tithe Potential (TTP). It
shows the total tithe that could theoretically be received in a given country, based on
the Gross Domestic Product per capita, if 100 percent of the members were 100 percent
faithful.
The formula is the following
The formula will yield a fraction of one, one being a number representing complete
faithfulness. Let’s take the following example:
If the GDP per capita is $45,000, and average tithe per capita in that territory is $4,500
(reflecting complete faithfulness), we would have the following formula:
If for the same GDP per capita, the average tithe per capita in that territory is $2,250, the
formula would look like this:
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In other words, the ratio that comes out of that formula represents the potential that has
been realized compared to the ideal, which is 100 percent or 1. The lower the ratio, the
less the potential has been realized against the ideal, and therefore the lower the
faithfulness of the members in the aggregate.
Factorsthataffecttheresults
Obviously a variety of factors influence the level of tithes given by the members; these
may skew the relationship to the GDP per capita. Some of these factors are:

The members do not represent a cross-section of the whole population, because
the sampling (total membership in that country) is small. That is the reason why
we do not take into account countries that have a membership smaller than 1,000.

The members are predominantly found in lower social classes because the state
has discriminated against them for years and relegated them to lower paying
jobs.

The members are predominantly to be found in lower classes, because the church
is still young in that country, and has attracted mainly lower classes individuals.
(It is a well-known historical fact that the first generation of Adventists are
mostly recruited among the lower strata of society. Only the second generation
is able to establish itself in the middle class, usually due to the Church’s
emphasis on education.)

The members are predominantly women (statistically the majority in the church),
or young people. Both groups have fewer economic advantages.
In many
countries, the church is mostly made up of young people, many of them not yet
gainfully employed. These factors may skew the statistics, but this happens only
in countries where the Church membership does not represent a cross-section of
the population at large.

The members are predominantly found in rural areas, where in some
underdeveloped countries, much of the economic activity is conducted on a
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barter basis. This mode of exchange cannot be captured by church statistics,
since records note the receipt of tithe in cash.

The Church has grown rapidly in recent years and has not been able to fully
establish its young members in their respective local church, instilling in them
the need to faithfully support financially the community of believers.
Usingandinterpretingthenumbers
This instrument proves useful, particularly as we compare countries that are in the
same geographical regions, and therefore reflect more or less the same economic and
demographic conditions (in Africa for instance), or countries that are economically well
developed (such as in the capitalistic West).
Using the formula in its improved
variation communicates much more directly and graphically how faithful members are
in a given country. It shows, for instance, that in a country such as Switzerland, with a
GTI of more than 60 percent, the majority of members are faithful while in a country
such as India with a GTI of 0.9 percent, the majority of members are not.
About 40 percent of the countries surveyed show that members realize 20 percent of the
TTP (Total tithe potential). Sadly, 60 percent are below that, and 33 percent do not even
contribute 10 percent. This clearly shows that in those countries, church rolls are vastly
inflated with nominal Adventists who have either disappeared or stopped being active
stakeholders.
The instrument is not an ideal instrument as it does not measure tithing patterns against
average personal income levels. If such statistics were available, the instrument would
deliver a much more accurate picture. However, with the exception of a few countries
(mostly Western), this kind of statistics is not widely available. Using the Gross
Domestic Product per capita according to the PPP calculation is the best approach at
this time when comparing a broad variety of countries.
In the future, analyses of tithing patterns focused on a region could be conducted using
average household income statistics, for instance, as they become more broadly
available. Also, long-term longitudinal studies for individual countries may hold
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significant potential to deliver additional insights into tithing behavior relative to the
ups and downs of the economy of a given country.
The value of the ratio
For practical purposes, and after watching tithe giving patterns for 10 years, I identify
the ratios and what they say about the country as follows:
Ratio of 35 percent and more: excellent
Ratio of 30-35 percent: very good
Ratio of 25-30: good
Ratio of 20-25: above average
Ratio of 15-20: mediocre to average
Ratio of 10-15 percent: stewardship needs to be emphasized
Ratio of less than 10 percent: the church is growing too fast or is made up of nominal
Christians. One way or another, it is in need of revising its membership records, as
rapid growth is often followed by significant numbers of apostasies.
As the following statistics and their analysis will show, any country, regardless of its
economic conditions or stage of economic development can have a low ratio. Some
countries may be temporarily penalized by rapid devaluation of their currency, war, or
other catastrophic events, but over time, they will find their own level. Their GTI ratio
will then give a picture of the faithfulness of their members, as compared with other
countries in the same region or culture.
Statistical sources
Tithes statistics have been culled from the Annual Statistical Reports of the General
Conference, 2011. The Gross Domestic Product Statistics are from the CIA World Factbook,
2003 to 2012, except where mentioned otherwise. The figures are correlated for their
respective years.
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In 2008, the data for GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) was rebased by the CIA
World Factbook using a new PPP conversion rates, benchmarked to the year 2005, which
were released on 17 December 2007 by the International Comparison Program (ICP). 1
The 2005 PPP data replace previous estimates, many from studies dating to 1993
or earlier. “The 2005 benchmark revises downward the size of the world economy in
PPP terms from previous estimates, and changes the relative sizes of many of the
world's economies.“ 2 These estimates remain estimates, but rest on a much broader set
of measured factors, and therefore reflect more accurately the actual size of a national
economy. This can be readily seen as the graph lines reflecting the Global Tithe Index
values of certain countries located in a similar region tended to converge in 2007,
showing similar economic conditions and similar patterns of giving.
In order to understand developments that seem to be unusual or fall outside of
expectations, explanations are requested on the part of local administrators. Where
these are not available, a detailed analysis of the foreign exchange fluctuations over the
course of the year is undertaken to better understand how tithe volumes, reported in US
Dollars, are really changing locally from year-to-year.
1 The International Comparison Program is a 5-year project conducted by the World Bank,
representing the most comprehensive survey of prices ever undertaken. See
http://siteresources.worldbank .org/ICPINT/ Resources/icp-final.pdf.
2 See Notes and Definitions of the CIA World Factbook 2008,
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/notesanddefs.html
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ExecutiveSummary

The year 2011 was an excellent year for the General Conference: global tithe
increased by more than 11 percent. Some of the increase can be traced back to
stronger currencies around the world, but most of it comes from more faithful
tithing.

Brazil continues its forceful rise by adding $87 million in tithes in 2011, an
increase of 25 percent. This comes after an increase of 29 percent in 2010. In 2003
it ranked 64 in 2003; it is at rank 14 in 2011. In that period, it went from 7.8
percent to 27.7 percent of TTP. Other countries in the southern cone show
substantial improvements as well. As a result, the South American region shows
an improvement of 25.6 percent in total tithe volume.

The West Central African region shows the greatest increase in tithes, year over
year, with an improvement of 25.8 percent. Togo continues its rise and has
achieved the 4th spot of the overall ranking, with a ratio of 41.5 percent. Ghana
and Nigeria show increases of 39 and 29 percent respectively in their tithe
volumes.

The United States increased its tithe by 3.9 percent, against a lackluster economy
which grew by 1.8 percent. This was, however, not enough to improve its ratio,
pointing to potentially inflated church membership rolls.

The Southern Africa Indian Ocean region (SID) shows an increase of 21.5 percent,
with extraordinary rises in Zambia and Zimbabwe (+49 percent). Zimbabwe now
occupies the 11th spot in the overall ranking with a ratio of 29 percent, right
behind Australia and Portugal.

Looking now at a 10-year perspective, the GTI Report highlights a global
improvement in tithe giving patterns in most regions of the world during that
period. Exceptions are the Interamerican region, the Southern Asia and the
Northern Asia Pacific regions where bloated membership rolls drag down the
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ratio. In the Southern African-Indian Ocean region, the improvement over 10
years is just shy of 500 percent. Former Soviet countries have also improved
dramatically. The European region has consistently shown the highest level of
giving overall.
RemarksontheGTI2011andTrendAnalysis2002–2011
Introductoryremarks
NewCountries
Having now gained 10 years’ perspective since this project was started, a major
adjustment was deemed necessary in the countries selected for this survey. Because
tithe statistics can easily be skewed by small memberships, through tithe remittances
from abroad that are hard to track, local administrative problems, or extraordinary
circumstances that may affect a local field significantly, countries with less than 1,000
members have been removed from this study. The following countries are no longer
listed: Albania (TED), Congo (WAD), Egypt, Eritrea (ECD), Greece (TED), Iceland
(TED), Israel, Slovenia (TED). Two of these countries are now attached to the General
Conference (Israel; and Egypt through the Middle-East North Africa Union Mission).
Together, they represented a membership of 4,790, or 0.03 percent of the total, and a
total tithe volume of $1,836,215, or 0.095 percent of the total membership surveyed in
2010.
These countries have been replaced with the following countries (their membership and
the abbreviation of the administrative region is in brackets): Belarus (4,012 - ESD), Cap
Verde (6,835 - WAD), Fiji (25,620 – SPD), Surinam (4,385 – IAD), Moldova (10,053 –
ESD), Trinidad and Tobago (64,118 – IAD) and Vietnam (10,590 - SSD). These countries
represent a total membership of 125,613, or 0.77 percent of the total, and a total tithe
volume of $14,678,501, or 0.68 percent in relationship to the total volume surveyed this
year. By virtue of its large membership (over 43,000), the country of the Solomon
Islands was also considered for inclusion. However, its Gross Domestic Product
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statistics are either erratic or its economy is subject to significant variations (perhaps
due to its very small size), making a statistical global tithe ratio meaningless from year
to year.
TheGlobalPictureandOverallTrends
The year 2011 was a very good year for the General Conference and for the Seventh-day
Adventist Church around the world. All its constituent parts reported a total tithe
volume of $2,267,603,977, which represents an increase of 11.3 percent over 2010. Eight
of the 13 divisions that constitute its regional administrative units reported double digit
increases; four of them had an increase of at least 20 percent.
This growth came in spite of the fact that the global economy slowed down significantly
since 2010. According to the CIA World Factbook 3 , world output - and per capita income
- continued to recover from the 2008-09 recession, but the world economy grew only by
3.7%, compared to the 5.2% rate in 2010. Lower income countries with per capita
incomes below $30,000 per year averaged 4.1% growth, while higher income countries
averaged 2.2% growth. Continuing uncertainties in financial markets slowed growth in
3
CIA World Factbook 2012, at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.htm
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Southern Europe [Spain (+0.7%), Italy (+0.4%), and Greece (-6.9%], while the tsunami
and Fukushima nuclear disaster hit Japan (-0.7%). In the US and the European Union,
growth fell below 2%, in part because of growing concern among consumers and
investors about the size of government debt and its impact on the direction of fiscal
policy. Global unemployment did not improve but continued to creep upwards,
reaching 9.0%. The problem of underemployment remained much higher, especially in
the developing world. Of course, economic growth was not evenly distributed across
countries. Countries with per capita incomes below $ 30,000 per year averaged 6.6
percent growth, while countries with per capita incomes above $ 30,000 averaged only
2.9 percent growth.
These global economics statistics contribute to make the increase in tithe giving stand
out.
In particular, the six largest contributors – the USA, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Mexico
and South Korea – brought $148,847,131 more than in 2010 (+10.8 percent). The increase
by country is as follows:
The United States is still short of where it was in 2008 when it reached $878 million in
tithe????, before the global financial crisis, but it has shown a significant improvement
over 2010. Their respective contribution is as follows:
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The economics of these individual countries will be examined in detail below. What
should be noted here is that the share of the USA relative to the rest of the world is
diminishing steadily. The last 10 years give us the following picture:
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TheGTIRatiosandRankingsoftheseRatios
The information in this paper looks at two kinds of information: the GTI ratios and the
ranking of these ratios in 104 countries in the World Church. The following charts
deliver a macro view of how Adventists kept up from year-to-year with their tithing
commitment. These charts are of particular interest because they show improvement or
deterioration based on specific benchmarks that are compared from year-to-year. They
show how Seventh-day Adventists as a whole changed their pattern of tithe giving over
a period of time.
Thenumberofcountriesindifferentcategories
The following charts and trendlines are adjusted to include the new countries, taking
into account their standing retroactively back to 2002.
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The first chart shows the number of countries in three different categories of giving.
The blue line at the bottom tracks from year-to-year how many countries achieve a GTI
of 25 percent or more, considered good to excellent, a “high faithfulness” category. If
the line (blue in our chart) consistently goes up over a period of years, it shows that the
pattern of giving improves in more and more countries. If it goes down, it means that
as a whole, Adventists members are shifting their priorities away from supporting the
Church. The other categories depicted are ratios of 20 percent or more (in red, above
average), and 10 percent or more (in green, mediocre to average).
There was a clear reversal of the upward trend among the best performing countries
when the recession started in 2008: fewer countries made it into the top category, but
found themselves instead slipping into the next category (red line). It bottomed out in
2009 and resumed its upward trend in 2010. In fact, the jump from 16 to 22 countries in
2011 is considerable, and illustrates the robust growth in giving that took place in top
performing countries.
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The red line shows an uninterrupted upward trend, indicating that more and more
countries are pushing above the average.
The green line has stabilized at 64. It went up dramatically in the middle of the decade,
showing a great improvement of giving during that period of time across a wide range
of countries.
The chart of averages shows the trend line of the sample of 103 countries as a whole.
A country with a GTI ratio above 16.1 percent is above average. The chart shows that
the average kept improving until the global recession hit (2007/2008) and deteriorated
until 2010. This chart shows a significant improvement overall between 2010 and 2011.
The average ratio for the top 25 countries further illustrates this finding:
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If we chart the value of the ratio for countries that occupy ranks 25, 50, and 75 from 2002
to 2011, we can also identify an improvement over time; the improvement in 2011 is
significant:
Taken together, these indicators show that tithe giving has steadily improved around
the world over the last 10 years. It also shows that church membership statistics are
closer to reality; they better reflect the actual number of people who are committed to
the Church and its mission.
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The largest contributors
Because of the aggregate volume of the six largest contributors and the impact they
have on the financial health of the Church globally, we track their performance from
year to year. In 2011 we have the following numbers:
2010
Weight
2011
Weight
1
USA
$ 820,102,539.00
59.6 %
1
USA
$
850,156,566.00
55.8 %
2
Brazil
$ 340,015,575.00
24.7%
2
Brazil
$
427,499,204.00
28.0 %
3
Canada
$
61,411,247.00
4.4 %
3
Australia
$
68,708,381.00
4.5 %
4
Australia
$
56,125,554.00
3.8 %
4
Canada
$
67,192,036.00
4.1%
5
South Korea
$
51,125,554.00
3.7 %
5
Mexico
$
56,571,923.00
3.7 %
6
Mexico
$
50,650,755.00
3.7 %
6
South Korea
$
54,474,227.00
3.7 %
Total
$ 1,379,604,921.00
Total
$ 1,524,602,337.00
Without USA
$
Without USA
$
559,501,777.00
674,445,771.00
The 3,266,703 members (19 percent of worldwide total) living in these six countries
contribute together 67 percent of the total tithe volume worldwide.
BraziltocatchupandovertaketheUSAwithin5years
USA giving is diminishing in weight, and Brazil is increasing substantially. Considering
the importance of these two countries, it is useful to review their respective trends over
the last 10 years. First, let’s take a look at their respective weight relative to the total
tithe volume worldwide:
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If we project these into the future, we can anticipate that Brazil will start contributing a
greater share than the United States around 2016.
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This is also apparent when considering the respective changes in the GTI ratios where
Brazil overtook the USA four years ago:
The growth of tithe volume in Brazil precisely fits an exponential curve. Should that
trend continue, it will intersect the trend line of the USA (which is linear) as early as
2014/2015:
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After a plateau due to the recession in 2009, the momentum Brazil displayed from 2002
picked up again, with even more strength. It surged in 2010, adding $78 million over
2009, then another $87 million in 2011. The combined gain for 2010 and 2011 equaled
the gain of the period 2004-2008, and added more than the total tithe volume in 2006.
The average annual growth rate of tithe between 2003 and 2011 is 23 percent and a
whopping 25 percent between 2010 and 2011. The 5 percent strengthening of the
Brazilian real against the dollar doesn’t explain this improvement, nor does the 10
percent rise of the Gross Domestic Product per capita (which to some extent should be
reflected in the rise of the real against the dollar). Even factoring the 3 percent increase
of membership does not explain it. Even adding all these factors to explain the increase
in tithe volume leaves 7 percent to reflect the improvement of the financial engagement
of church members. This comes on top of the 10.6 percent identified in 2010.
Since 2002, Brazil has had a 527 percent rise in tithe, as opposed to an improvement of
55 percent in the standard of living, and of 42 percent in the value of the real against the
dollar.
The surge of the church in Brazil, not only in membership statistics, but in financial
clout is a vivid illustration of the shift of the center of gravity of Christianity from the
Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere.
CanadaandAustralia
Both countries are very similar in that they have a strong mining sector, benefiting from
sustained commodity prices worldwide. This has translated into a favorable exchange
rate to the dollar for both currencies, but also increasing contributions to the church
treasury thanks to comparatively low unemployment rates (Australia has 5.1 percent,
Canada 7.5 percent; compare with the USA at 9.0 percent).
MexicoandSouthKorea
Mexico had a great year. Its tithes rose by 10 percent in dollars year over year. Ten
years ago (2001), its total tithes were $21.8 million. Today, they are $56.5 million,
27 | P a g e
showing an increase of 159 percent even though the Mexican peso has depreciated
against the dollar by 28 percent. In spite of the great improvement in total tithes, its
GTI Ratio has been hovering around 5 to 6 percent of TTP (total tithe potential), leaving
it deep in the ranks (at position 84). Should the members in this country be as faithful
as Brazilians for instance (27.7 percent), Mexico would have total tithes of $280 million
and be a tremendous engine of growth for the entire region. The background climate of
drug-related violence in the country, fear, but particularly high emigration rates to the
U.S. may partly explain why the GTI ratio is so low instead. As is often the case in
countries that export labor, members who emigrate to other countries tend to leave their
names on the registers of their home churches, but stop making contributions to the
local treasury. This low ratio seems to point to the fact that membership rolls are
overstated, possibly by as much as 75 percent. A correction to reflect the number of
people who support the Church and are not just nominal or absentee members would
probably bring the numbers down from around 675,000 to between 150,000 and 200,000.
South Korea’s volume of tithe has improved significantly following the precipitous fall
of its currency against the dollar in 2008, when tithes in dollars contracted from $ 56
million to $ 46 million. Even though tithes did not contract in Korean Won during that
period and God’s people remained faithful, this was a significant contraction in US
Dollars. Now, at $ 54.5 million, tithe giving shows an increase of 6.8 percent over 2010
in US dollars. In Korean won, the increase is of only 2.7 percent, which matches
precisely the increase of GDP per capita. Tithing habits have remained the same, and
church rolls too, the poor ranking of South Korea (position 79 with 7.7 percent) being
indicative of inflated church rolls. As a prosperous country with an ethic similar to that
of Western Europe, it should easily be at the level enjoyed by those countries. The low
GTI Ratio reveals that a large proportion of members in that country have become
backsliders or disappeared altogether. In principle, South Korea should have a
standing similar to that of the UK or of Italy (with ratios of 25.1 and 27.1 percent). This
suggests that almost three quarters of the membership rolls are made up of nominal
28 | P a g e
Christians, and that the Church is probably supported by no more than 70,000 members
out of a total of 221,000.
TheGTIbydivision
If we compare the divisions, we find that with an average of 33.7 percent of GTI, the
Euro-Africa Division is by far the region with the highest level of giving, just as last
year. It is followed by the Euro-Asia Division (29.8 percent, up from 26 percent), and
the South Pacific Division (22.5 percent, up from 19 percent). The North American
Division comes in fourth position (21.2 percent, up from 20.6 percent).
At the bottom, the East-Central Africa Division takes position number ten (8.4 percent
down from 8.9 percent), followed by the Inter-American Division (5.4 percent,
unchanged). The Southern Asia Division closes the ranking (0.8 percent, down from 0.9
percent). The following table shows in alphabetical order each division’s ratio for the
year 2010 and 2011.
29 | P a g e
30 | P a g e
TheEast‐CentralAfricaDivision
The East-Central Africa Division has grown significantly in tithe volumes since I
launched this survey in 2003. Its tithes went from $7.9 million at the end of 2002 to $27.8
million at the end of 2011, reflecting great improvements in the economy and to some
extent in the controls that are now in place.
As a whole, the division has remained on the same level compared to preceding years,
with improvements in some countries, and deterioration in others.
Some countries such as Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo used
to be on financial life-support. These three countries particularly have made
considerable strides towards mobilizing their members to be more faithful, while
putting in place the controls that guarantee that the funds are well administered. With
the return of peace in 2002, conditions could normalize and return these central African
31 | P a g e
countries to a level of giving that is more in line with the rest of the continent. Of note is
that a reassessment of national economic statistics, as reflected in the CIA World
Factbook edition of 2007, contributed to a major improvement in the ratios of these
countries. That year ushered in a period of real growth, as the average ratio kept rising
from 7.1 percent to 8.4 percent in 2011. Particularly surprising are the improvements in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, which were already highlighted in the report of last
year, particularly in the North Kivu (north-east part of the country) where tithes went
from $2.61 per capita in 2002 to $12.48 today. The same improvement can be noted in
the country’s capital (West Congo Field) where tithes went from $5.81 to $23.21 per
person in the same period. However, in 2011, tithes across the country went up from
$1.78 million to $2.49 million (+39 percent), bringing its ratio up to 15 percent.
Rwanda, a country now enjoying steady economic progress disappoints by slipping
from a high of 8.3 percent in 2007 to 6.6 percent in 2011. By contrast, its neighboring
country Tanzania went from a low of 6.8 percent to 9.9 percent in the same period.
32 | P a g e
Eritrea has been dropped from the ranking. It is a politically closed country, one of this
planet’s last hermit countries with a membership between 300 and 400, propped up
financially by remittances from abroad, which have skewed our statistics every year
since the beginning of this survey.
TheEuro‐AsiaDivision
Two countries used to make up the ranking of the Euro-Asia Division: Russia and the
Ukraine.
As of this year, we have introduced two more countries: Belarus and
Moldova, totaling 14,065 members between the two of them.
The four countries together give the following picture:
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The improvement between 2010 and 2011 is mainly due to a loss of 11 percent of its
membership due to membership audits.
Moldova is a country that was waiting to be discovered. Its membership seems to be
among the most faithful in the world, rivaling Switzerland and taking the number two
position in the ranking. In fact, its ratio in 2008 is the highest ratio recorded anywhere
under normal economic circumstances.
34 | P a g e
Belarus, the other country introduced in the list, is below average with a ratio of 11
percent, down from 2008 and in a flat trend since 2009.
Finally, the two countries of Russia and the Ukraine continue to move in lockstep as
they have been for the last 8 years.
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TheEuro‐AfricaDivision
The Euro-Africa Division has always enjoyed high and consistent giving, placing the
division at the top of the ranking among divisions, year after year.
Its contributions vary a little from year to year, depending on the exchange rate with the
dollar. The improvement in the Euro exchange to the dollar averaged 4 percent for the
36 | P a g e
year whereas the improvement in the ratio was 4.8 percent, showing a slight
improvement in contributions overall.
Switzerland is again the top giving country in the world, as it was last year. This year, a
7 percent improvement in tithes in local currency and a favorable exchange rate pushed
the ratio even further, improving it to 64.6 percent, the highest it has ever been since
this survey started, allowing it to continue on its upward trend. Its 4,358 members
contribute the highest per capita tithe in the world with $2,876.
TheInter‐AmericanDivision
The Inter-American Division is a giant whose tithe statistics belie its strength. Its best
performing country is the Bahamas, which went from rank 59 last year to 65, with a
ratio that dropped from 11.8 to 9.4 percent. Unlike in preceding years, the overall trend
for the division did not deteriorate further, however, as its average remained at 5.4
percent.
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Two new countries from the Inter-American Division have been included in the survey
this year: Trinidad and Tobago, with its 64,000+ members; and Surinam, its
neighboring country, much more modest with 4,385 members. Trinidad had a good
year, as it moved from 6.8 percent to 7.8 percent. Its ratio remains very low, however.
Surinam ‘s ratio is even lower. Both countries seem to be greatly in need of membership
audits. A high inflation rate due to a currency devaluation of 20 percent in Surinam
exacerbated the downward trend.
The church in IAD’s two largest countries did well compared to 2010. Mexico added
over 20 percent in tithes in US dollars, even though the average exchange rate between
38 | P a g e
the dollar and the peso remained almost the same, and its GDP per capita went up by
about 3 percent. Unfortunately, because of its bloated membership rolls, this was not
sufficient to significantly move up the GTI ratio. The situation in Colombia is similar
situation. A dramatic improvement of tithes did not move the needle significantly:
tithes improved by 17 percent, but the ratio went merely from 6.1 to 6.6 percent. Tithes
went up by the same proportion in Venezuela (+17 percent), but the needle remained
stuck at a ratio of 2.5 percent, again indicating membership rolls that are vastly
overstated (compare the increase of 17 percent of tithe with an increase of 2.5 percent in
the GDP per capita, and a currency exchange rate that is essentially stable).
The Caribbean basin remains essentially unchanged from last year.
The countries in the American isthmus.
The four countries of Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua have exhibited
over the long term similar patterns and trends. Since 2009, Nicaragua resumed its
downward trend, whereas the other countries improved their performance, especially
Guatemala and Costa Rica.
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The North-American Division
The North-American Division had a great year, with an increase in tithe of $34 million,
or 3.8 percent, bringing its total volume to $923.1 million.
The United States added $29 million in tithes in 2011, or 3.5 percent, a remarkable
performance considering the lackluster economic performance of the country (+1
percent). Even so, as the following chart illustrates, the tithes volume has not yet
reached the high-water mark it left in 2008 ($878 million), and the ratio stayed the same
as in 2010, which points to bloated church rolls.
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Canada continued to be buoyed by strong tithe revenues, which translated into an
increase of US$5.8 million, or 9.4 percent. As the following chart indicates, tithes
retreated only in 2009. This is due to the smaller exposure of Canada to the great
financial crisis, and an otherwise stronger Canadian dollar than in the preceding years.
The combination of these trends translates into an increasing disparity between the two
countries in their tithe ratios, and points also to stronger tithe giving patterns in Canada
than in the U.S.
41 | P a g e
Bermuda has a ratio of 21 percent. Unfortunately, statistics more recent than 2003 for
its Gross Domestic Products are not available through the CIA World Factbook. The
World Bank estimates its Gross National Income at more than $99,500 per capita per
year, which would make it the highest in the world. However, there is a considerable
gap between salaries paid by off-shore financial institutions located in Bermuda and the
salaries of the average Bermudian worker on the island which stood at $65,559 as of
2011. Taking the latter figure into our formula produces a ratio of 21 percent, vs. 20.6
percent last year using the “frozen” figure of 2003 supplied by the CIA. 4 This conclude
that the latter figure is a more reliable income figure than the one supplied by the World
Bank. Using that figure places Bermudian members ahead of their counterparts in the
U.S., but still far short of their potential.
4
See http://www.bermuda-online.org/economy.htm
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TheNorthernAsiaPacificDivision
Comments about the status of South Korea were made above under Mexico and South
Korea.
Japan is the most faithful country in that division, perhaps a reflection of its stable and
ageing membership. It comes in first among Asian countries, with a ratio that matches
that of Western European countries: 27.3 percent, up from 26.3 in 2010. This puts it on
rank 15, behind Brazil and New Zealand. In fact, its trend line has been going back up
since the recession started, ending up in 2011 at its highest level since the survey began.
43 | P a g e
Hong Kong remained flat at 10.4 percent, far short of its total tithe potential. Taiwan’s
level at 9 percent is even worse. However, both statistics are probably skewed because
of the extraordinary rise of the GDP per capita statistics over the last 10 years, which
probably do not reflect the rise of standard of living among our own members. This
dynamic is likely to be the same as in Singapore, which is explained in greater detail
below.
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The South-American Division
With the exception of Ecuador, the South-American Division has improved its record
across the board between 2010 and 2011.
I reported in 2009 how Peru, and especially Bolivia and Ecuador, had dramatically
revised their membership statistics. In the case of Bolivia, almost two thirds of its
members were taken off the books. This had of course an immediate effect on the GTI
ratio. Remarkably, in the case of Bolivia, in spite of the cuts, the total amount of tithes
increased by 15 percent between 2008 and 2009, again by almost 10 percent between
2009 and 2010, and by a whopping 26 percent in 2011. Currency exchange fluctuations
were less than one percent since 2009. As a result, Bolivia is the best performing
45 | P a g e
country of the four Andean countries; the latest statistics show an increasing
commitment from year to year among our members, all the more remarkable since the
improvement in the GDP per capita is only 3.6 percent.
Peru continued the process of auditing its church books, started a few years ago. The result has
been dramatic as it went from 769,980 members in 2007 to 433,131 in 2010, and to 355,873 in
2011. This had immediate consequences on the GTI ratio, but at a ratio of only 6.9 percent of
total potential tithe, the question remains as to the level of commitment of the remaining
membership in that country. Would the membership be as faithful as in neighboring Bolivia, the
total tithe volume would be of the order ofg $54 million:
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On the other side of the Andes lie the countries of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.
All three countries have been on a steady upward trend, with small landlocked
Paraguay taking the lead already in 2010. Paraguay had an increase of 41 percent in
tithes in US dollars in 2011, following an increase of 30.7 percent in 2010. Uruguay had
an increase of 28.7 percent. The currency appreciated by 13 percent between 2010 and
2011 in Paraguay against the dollar. In Uruguay, the strengthening against the dollar
was only 4 percent. Their respective standard of living went up by 1.6 percent and 5.6
percent, which leaves a dramatic net increase of tithes in these countries.
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Argentina has been on a more steady upward path, contributing an increase in tithes of
23.5 percent in 2010, and again of 30.2 percent in 2011 (in spite of a loss of value for the
Argentine peso against the US dollar of 3.8 percent and 5.5 percent in 2010 and 2011
respectively). The increase in the standard of living (GDP per capita) was 20.4 percent in
2011 over 2010, which again points to increasing commitment to the church in that
country. The net increase in Argentina in 2010 was already of the order of 10-15 percent.
The low overall ratio seems to point to inaccurate church rolls, since the members who
do contribute increase their level of giving substantially from year to year.
The Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division
Statistics for the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division reflect an on-going success
story. Its membership growth rate continued unabated (6 percent in 2011), but its tithe
volume grew even more: 21.5 percent. Of the three African divisions, the Southern
African Indian Ocean Division has the highest average GTI ratio: 15.2 percent. With a
total volume increase of $14 million, 2011 was truly an excellent year for SID; most
countries improved their GTI ratio; some of them dramatically.
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When we look at the 10 years since 2002 when the region was restructured, we see that
the Southern Africa region shows the largest increase of all 13 divisions. Its tithe volume
went from $13.2 million to $78.7 million, a 495 percent increase. This reflects
tremendous membership growth in certain countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe), stronger
leadership following the restructuring of the African continent by the General
Conference in 2002, as well as normalization in countries that were formally at war
(Angola, Mozambique) or suffering from hyperinflation and other political challenges
(Zimbabwe). Zambia and Zimbabwe multiplied their tithe volume more than 7 and 8
times respectively, the Republic of South Africa by 5; Angola and Mozambique were in
such a state of chaos that no tithes were recorded in 2002.
In the 2009 GTI Report, mention was made of the progress in the Southern Africa
Union, comprising the Republic of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. All three
countries have had a steady climb within a very narrow range of each other, illustrating
that similar giving habits have taken hold across the union, regardless of nationalities.
Their steady climb out of the single digit range illustrates that it is possible to gradually
improve the commitment of our members, even across a vast union comprising over
100,000 members. Unfortunately, while South Africa continued to improve its position
in 2011, the two other countries dropped back somewhat.
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The Southern Africa Union’s fourth country, Namibia, has been even more successful
than its neighbors to the South, starting from a much lower position. In the past 10
years, its ratio has improved by over 400 percent! Since the Namibian dollar is pegged
with the South African rand, the performance of the two countries can be compared
directly. Membership growth has been minimal. Its neighbor to the East, Botswana (not
part of the Southern African Union), by contrast, does not mark significant progress but
is on an undulating plateau.
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Zimbabwe’s economy stabilized in 2009 after years of hyperinflation and market
distortions that made statistics unreliable. 2010 was the first full year during which the
currency of exchange has been the U.S. dollar, making the GTI ratio for that country
meaningful for the first time. The year 2011 brought a huge surprise in the form of an
increase in tithe from $6.8 million to $10.1 million (+49 percent), which translates into a
jump from 20.7 percent to 29 percent, making it the highest ratio in the division, and
bringing the country on par with advanced economies. It places Zimbabwe in 11th
position behind Australia and Portugal (second in Africa), and is all the more
remarkable since the membership of the Zimbabwe Union is one of the highest in the
world at 700,799, with a high growth rate (over 7 percent in the last 3 years). High
membership growth has usually a depressing effect on the GTI ratio as new members
take time to become stakeholders, and often drop out within a short time. Zimbabwe’s
economy is bound to improve in the coming years, and it will be interesting to watch
how this high commitment to the church will translate into growing tithes volumes as
well, and potentially turn Zimbabwe into a financial powerhouse in the region. Since
the currency of trade is now the US dollar, no exchange rate distortions skew the
statistics.
We are also watching Angola, identified in 2009 as a future financial engine, given its
tremendous economic potential and membership growth. Its tithe had slumped by 10
percent between 2009 and 2010, but bounced back by 21 percent between 2010 and 2011.
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Inflation remains a major challenge (14 percent in 2011) and the standard of living (GDP
per capita) remained unchanged between 2010 and 2011.
Malawi also improved its tithe volume significantly (+22 percent), against an
improvement in the economy of 12 percent. Its currency is pegged to the dollar.
However, its GTI ratio remains almost unchanged which points to problems with the
church rolls.
The South Pacific Division
SPD had a great year in 2011, with substantial increases in 3 out of the 4 countries that
make up the survey, beginning with Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
The bulk of the division is Australia, followed by Papua New Guinea (PNG) and New
Zealand. We have added Fiji to our survey as of this year, and have restated all past
statistics to reflect that country’s contribution to the overall picture of the division.
According to Rodney Brady, treasurer of the division, the Australian economy remains
strong with full employment and wage growth. The growth in tithe in Australia is
double the wage rate movement and membership growth, which is a very positive sign
about the health of the church in Australia. PNG is a country going through a resources
boom and expects to double its GDP over the next few years. This boom is flowing
52 | P a g e
through with strong tithe growth in local currency (7.8 percent in Australian, [but 22
percent in US dollars], 6.7 percent in Papua New Guinea and 4.0 percent in New
Zealand). As a result, the total tithe increase in dollars for the three countries is US$16
million, or 21 percent more than in 2010.
These developments vaulted Australia to the 9th position from rank 21 in 2010; New
Zealand went from rank 23 to 15; PNG from rank 42 to 36, with a ratio that is for the
first time significantly above the international average.
Fiji had a tremendous increase until 2007, almost doubling its GTI ratio, but dropped
year after year until 2010. Only in 2011 did this field started reversing the trend. Fiji’s
economy is dependent on tourism and remittances from abroad. According to the CIA
World Fact Book (2011), “Fiji's tourism industry was damaged by the December
2006 coup and is facing an uncertain recovery time. In 2007 tourist arrivals
were down almost 6%, with substantial job losses in the service sector, and
GDP dipped. The coup has created a difficult business climate. The EU has
suspended all aid until the interim government takes steps toward new
elections. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land
ownership rights, and the government's inability to manage its budget.
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Overseas remittances from Fijians working in Kuwait and Iraq have
decreased significantly.”
The Southern Asia Pacific Division
The Southern Asia Pacific Division had a good year with an increase of over $8 million
in tithes (plus 16 percent). Its overall GTI ratio improved from 10.4 percent to 11.1.
percent.
The Southern Asia Pacific Division’s heartland is the Philippines with 765,631
members. Indonesia comes second in that division with 197,588 members. As the chart
54 | P a g e
shows, both countries had parallel developments until 2009. In 2010, however,
Indonesia made a jump, while the Philippines remained on a relatively low plateau.
The Philippines had registered a significant improvement of its ratio in 2007 following
important retrenchments in the membership numbers. Indonesia did not audit its
books then, but showed a marked improvement that year. In 2011, Indonesia did audit
its books: membership came down from 217,043 to 197,588, which improved the ratio
from 18.0 percent in 2010 to 20.9 percent.
Tithes in Indonesia more than trebled in the last 10 years.
Other countries did very well too: Burma’s tithes increased by 38.0 percent. Thailand’s
by 17.0 percent.
The nation-state of Singapore increased its tithe volume by 16.9 percent, well beyond its
real growth rate of 4.9 percent, which translates in an improved ratio. However, some
statistical adjustments in the GDP per capita brought that number down from $ 62,100
to $59,700, which also contributes to improve the GTI ratio.
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Thailand and Myanmar (Burma), had achieved congruence in 2010 in spite of their
very different political and economic systems, but in 2011, the socialist Burma resumed
its steep rise and passed its capitalist neighbor with a tithe increase of 38 percent.
This year, we have added Vietnam to our survey. The church was officially recognized
in Vietnam in 2010, enabling it to open a bank account and to start collecting and
disbursing tithes in more efficient ways. Most of our members represent the rural class,
barely subsisting on what they produce. While the country has experienced a period of
substantial industrial growth, they have not been able to reap the benefits of that
transformation, which explains the low ratio.
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The Southern Asia Division
The Southern Asia Division is almost entirely constituted by India.
Its tithes have been abysmally low, pointing to serious membership statistics problems.
The GTI ratio deteriorated from 0.9 to 0.8 percent in 2011. Its tithe volume increase at 3.6
percent is also the smallest of all the divisions, in spite (or perhaps because) of an
inflation rate of 9.13 percent.
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SUD’s membership has grown by 135 percent since 2002, and its tithes by 217 percent.
However, compounded inflation in that 10-year period was 102 percent 5 , which means
that the current tithe volume of $4.8 million is worth only $2.4 million in 2002 dollars;
yet, this is a growth of 57.8 percent compared to the $1.52 million that were contributed
that year. If its membership grew by 135 percent and its tithes by only 57.8 percent, it
means that at least 77.2 percent of these added members do not contribute tithes at all.
The Indian rupee stayed very stable to the dollar during that entire 10-year period,
facilitating our comparison. In fact, it appreciated by 3-4 percent against the dollar,
which makes the division’s tithe giving record even worse.
With a GDP per capita of $3,700 and a membership of over 1.6 million, the total tithe
potential is well over half a billion. If only 10 percent of that potential could be realized,
there would be almost $60 million in the coffers, rather than $4.8 million.
GDP
GDP/cap.
Members
Tithes
Tithes/
capita
Total tithe
potential
GTI
Ratio
$4,060
$3,700
1,607,775
$4,829,832
$3.00
$598,829,000
0.8%
Most of our members come from the state of Andhra Pradesh (955,000 of them), most of
them from very poor rural areas, and most of them do not even remotely have the
earning power that would reflect the average. Even so, it doesn’t make the problem
completely go away, as GDP statistics per capita factor in the reality of the whole
economic spectrum, including the rural sector, which is huge.
Another explanation for this low ratio is that the Church is made up of many women
and children, which partly explains these low numbers. That is also true of many other
countries with better ratios. We must conclude that these statistics point to the need for
membership audits and for determined stewardship education. A large proportion of
See the average inflation for India, at Worldwide Inflation Data, at Inflation.eu,
http://www.inflation.eu/inflation-rates/india/historic-inflation/cpi-inflation-india.aspx
5
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those who have been won to the Gospel have not become stakeholders in their new
community of faith.
The Trans-European Division
With an improvement in tithes of over $6 million (9.9 percent), TED had a very solid
year. Unfortunately, an extraordinary tithe shortfall in Croatia dramatically lowered the
average ratio for the division in 2011. In addition, compared to previous years, a
number of small countries with a high ratio have been taken out of the survey (such as
Greece, Israel—now no longer part of the TED, Albania, Slovenia, and Iceland), further
depressing the average.
Norway had an extraordinary 11.5 percent tithe increase, which brings its ratio to 34
percent, the highest level recorded. Unfortunately, it is due almost entirely to an 8
percent increase of the Norwegian krone against the dollar. The United Kingdom had
an increase of 9.4 percent in tithe, while the British pound appreciated against the dollar
by 3.8 percent only, demonstrating greater giving in that country. A strong membership
growth of 4.3 percent also explains only some of that financial growth.
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The West-Central African Division
WAD showed tremendous growth in 2011. With a 25.8 percent increase in tithes, it
shows the greatest progression of all 13 division of the General Conference. This did not
come by chance or through favorable currency exchange rates, but through a
determined effort on the part of the leadership at all levels. A number of countries did
exceptionally well.
Ghana and Nigeria, who constitute the heartland of Adventism in that region, show an
increase of 34 and 24 percent in tithes respectively. This comes as a wave of spiritual
renewal is washing over these lands through the implementation of Operation Global
Rain. According to the treasurer of the West Central Africa Division, Emmanuel Manu,
strong stewardship programs were conducted in Ghana including pastors and local
church elders. In addition, the level of pastoral service improved dramatically in the
central part of Ghana by increasing the pastor to member ratio, getting more pastors to
work with churches at grass roots level. This translated directly into higher tithes and
better liquidities. The same applies to Nigeria, particularly the Eastern Nigeria Union.
In spite of the fact that Ghana’s tithe growth is much more substantial than that of
Nigeria, a number of macroeconomic factors conspire to keep its ratio at a low 7.3
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percent rate, compared to that of Nigeria, which jumped to 10.5 percent. According to
the CIA World Factbook, “Sound macro-economic management along with high prices
for gold and cocoa helped sustain GDP growth in 2008-11.” Also, “oil production at
Ghana's offshore Jubilee field began in mid-December, 2010, and is expected to boost
economic growth. “ As a result, the country’s GDP per capita jumped from $2,500 to
$3,100, while that of Nigeria increased from $2,500 to $2,600 only.
Just as in 2010, one of the most remarkable developments of all the countries surveyed
took place again in Togo, which jumped to the 4th rank with a ratio of 41.5 percent.
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Last year’s improvement was due to a radical membership audit. This year, however,
thanks to vigorous stewardship education and spiritual renewal programs, the increase
is due solely to a growth of 48.7 percent of tithes. No currency exchange fluctuations
distort this picture, as the franc CFA is pegged to the dollar. As a result, Togo takes its
place right behind Switzerland, Moldova and Austria. The members of this humble
African country have demonstrated that it is possible to be economically deprived, yet
faithful.
In 2008, Burkina Faso had a ratio of 44.1 percent, but has unfortunately lapsed since
and is now at 16.5 percent.
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In Ivory Coast, tithes also made a significant jump, going up by 23.6 percent, bringing
the country to a ratio of 15.4 percent.
This year, we have taken into the survey the country of Cap Verde, whose membership
stands at 6,835. At 18.2 percent, its ratio stands above the international average and
places the country in 40th position, just before Madagascar, Burkina Faso, and the US.
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Conclusion
The Global Tithe Index offers now a perspective of 10 years in tithing patterns of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church around the world. It takes into account the global
financial crisis which had an uneven impact, depending on the region. Some countries,
particularly the United States, Great Britain and to a lesser extent some Western
European countries, were deeply affected by these events. The United States still has
not regained the strength it had before. Other countries, particularly Africa and the
Pacific countries, whose economies depend on raw materials, continued on a robust
expansion, with barely a pause. The perspective we have gained shows that overall, the
work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has not only continued to be faithfully
supported by its members, but that in most regions of the world, their support has
grown; in many countries, it has grown substantially. Whereas the United States has
lost ground, both in relation to the rest of the world, as well as in absolute terms
through the recession of these last years, this has been more than made up by the
growth in membership and in financial commitment in Brazil and in many other
countries. However, this survey shows also that some world regions (notably the
Interamerican region and the southern Asian region) need to bring their membership
rolls in alignment with reality, while other world regions are growing in stature and in
means (notably the South American region and the Southern African region), and will
increasingly function as role models for the church elsewhere. The result of the
developments we have witnessed over the last decade reflects a stronger church overall,
increasingly well-endowed to fulfill its mission. By expressing statistics in percentage
ratios, the survey shows also that there is a vast potential that still can be tapped. In
each region, there are several countries that stand well above the other countries. They
should work as role models and inspiration, demonstrating what can potentially be
realized to make the church prosperous everywhere.
64 | P a g e
Global Tithe Index 2011
1
Switzerland
2
Moldova
3
Austria
Togo
Denmark
Germany
Norway
France
Australia
Portugal
Zimbabwe
Italy
Ukraine
Brazil
New Zealand
Japan
South Africa
Russia
Canada
Slovakia
Lesotho
United Kingdom
Paraguay
Spain
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Swaziland
Sweden
Romania
Estonia
Hungary
Poland
Burma
Belgium
Papua New
Guinea
Bermuda
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
GDP
GDP per
billions
Capita
$353.60 $44,500.00
$12.00
$3,400.00
$349.90 $41,600.00
$6.464
$1,000.00
$206.00 $37,000.00
$3,114.00 $38,100.00
$265.50 $53,400.00
$2,214.00 $35,100.00
$915.10 $40,800.00
$248.50 $23,400.00
$6.474
$500.00
$1,847.00 $30,500.00
$329.30
$7,200.00
$2,294.00 $11,800.00
$123.70 $28,000.00
$4,444.00 $34,700.00
$555.000 $11,000.00
$2,383.00 $16,700.00
$1,395.00 $40,500.00
$126.90 $23,300.00
$3.723
$1,900.00
$2,288.00 $36,500.00
$40.64
$6,200.00
$1,406.00 $30,500.00
$285.00 $27,100.00
$701.40 $42,000.00
$6.231
$5,300.00
$384.70 $40,700.00
$267.10 $12,500.00
$27.31 $20,400.00
$195.60 $19,600.00
$771.00 $20,200.00
$82.68
$1,300.00
$413.70 $37,800.00
$16.86
$5.85
$2,500.00
$69,900.00
Members
Tithe
4,358
10,053
3,928
5,517
2,509
35,099
4,570
12,993
56,741
9,425
700,799
9,426
55,145
1,309,791
11,923
15,302
101,575
45,037
63,681
2,217
7,179
33,015
13,012
16,104
7,466
4,943
5,319
2,762
67,033
1,627
4,672
5,790
30,710
2,159
247,756
3,940
$ 12,534,854
$
1,816,538
$
8,043,605
$
229,021
$
3,544,521
$ 50,989,750
$
8,306,487
$ 15,323,457
$ 68,708,381
$
6,473,474
$ 10,158,816
$
8,256,899
$ 11,331,356
$ 427,499,204
$
9,193,918
$ 14,491,383
$ 30,480,757
$ 20,014,884
$ 67,192,036
$
1,311,110
$
345,292
$ 30,020,881
$
1,984,232
$ 12,059,821
$
4,932,271
$
4,835,185
$
655,413
$
2,597,219
$ 19,013,595
$
733,836
$
2,016,084
$
2,538,557
$
863,942
$
1,761,514
Tithe per
capita
$ 2,876.29
$ 180.70
$ 2,047.76
$
41.51
$ 1,412.72
$ 1,452.74
$ 1,817.61
$ 1,179.36
$ 1,210.91
$ 686.84
$
14.50
$ 875.97
$ 205.48
$ 326.39
$ 771.11
$ 947.03
$ 300.08
$ 444.41
$ 1,055.13
$ 591.39
$
48.10
$ 909.31
$ 152.49
$ 748.87
$ 660.63
$ 978.19
$ 123.22
$ 940.34
$ 283.65
$ 451.04
$ 431.52
$ 438.44
$
28.13
$ 815.89
GTI
Ratio
64.6%
53.1%
49.2%
41.5%
38.2%
38.1%
34.0%
33.6%
29.7%
29.4%
29.0%
28.7%
28.5%
27.7%
27.5%
27.3%
27.3%
26.6%
26.1%
25.4%
25.3%
24.9%
24.6%
24.6%
24.4%
23.3%
23.2%
23.1%
22.7%
22.1%
22.0%
21.7%
21.6%
21.6%
$
$
$
53.26
$ 1,469.70
21.3%
21.0%
13,196,628
5,790,603
37
38
30
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
Finland
Indonesia
Cap Verde
Madagascar
B. Faso
USA
Bulgaria
Thailand
Uruguay
Cote d'Ivoire
Congo DRC
Bolivia
Latvia
Singapore
Malawi
Mauritius
Benin
Argentina
Namibia
Croatia
Cambodia
Fiji
73
Ecuador
Belarus
Nigeria
Chile
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Bahamas
Zambia
Haiti
Tanzania
Kenya
Grenada
Jamaica
Chad
Philippines
74
Trinidad and
Tobago
75
Korea South
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
GDP
GDP per
billions
Capita
$194.30 $36,000.00
$1,125.00
$4,700.00
$2.08
$4,000.00
$20.640
$900.00
$22.10
$1,300.00
$14,830.00 $48,300.00
$101.00 $13,800.00
$602.20
$9,400.00
$50.91 $15,100.00
$36.070
$1,600.00
$25.290
$300.00
$50.44
$4,800.00
$34.89 $16,800.00
$314.90 $59,700.00
$13.760
$900.00
$19.290 $15,000.00
$14.750
$1,600.00
$716.50 $17,700.00
$15.930
$7,500.00
$79.30 $18,000.00
$33.82
$2,200.00
$4.15
$4,600.00
$127.40
$8,500.00
$141.80 $15,000.00
$414.000
$2,600.00
$299.50 $17,400.00
$351.50 $49,400.00
$875.90 $37,700.00
$10.60 $30,400.00
$21.880
$1,600.00
$12.37
$1,200.00
$67.400
$1,600.00
$71.210
$1,700.00
$1.44 $13,800.00
$24.56
$8,900.00
$19.560
$1,900.00
$391.10
$4,100.00
$26.49
$1,554.00
$20,000.00
$31,200.00
Members
Tithe
4,992
197,588
6,835
132,700
3,820
1,074,418
7,535
14,095
7,525
12,796
553,823
79,997
4,047
2,806
381,784
4,680
5,405
112,907
17,522
2,789
5,667
25,620
46,896
4012
282,549
113,022
4,859
6,175
20,550
772,929
374,399
430,573
721,214
13,076
263,168
3,969
765,631
$
3,751,969
$ 18,884,904
$
498,504
$
2,102,841
$
81,806
$ 850,156,566
$
1,685,822
$
2,130,503
$
1,782,338
$
314,383
$
3,112,511
$
5,733,640
$
999,808
$
2,399,849
$
4,616,951
$
917,872
$
110,835
$ 24,787,059
$
1,542,726
$
580,135
$
143,551
$
1,335,547
$
4,472,730
$
662,610
$
7,741,713
$ 20,570,705
$
2,498,127
$
2,350,016
$
5,903,168
$ 11,321,292
$
4,050,393
$
6,165,894
$ 10,901,931
$
1,596,528
$ 19,637,722
$
60,799
$ 25,199,839
Tithe per
capita
$ 751.60
$
95.58
$
72.93
$
15.85
$
21.42
$ 791.27
$ 223.73
$ 151.15
$ 236.86
$
24.57
$
5.62
$
71.67
$ 247.05
$ 855.26
$
12.09
$ 196.13
$
20.51
$ 219.54
$
88.05
$ 208.01
$
25.33
$
52.13
$
95.38
$ 165.16
$
27.40
$ 182.01
$ 514.12
$ 380.57
$ 287.26
$
14.65
$
10.82
$
14.32
$
15.12
$ 122.10
$
74.62
$
15.32
$
32.91
$
$
$
$
64,118
227,586
10,055,839
54,474,227
156.83
239.36
GTI
Ratio
20.9%
20.3%
18.2%
17.6%
16.5%
16.4%
16.2%
16.1%
15.7%
15.4%
15.0%
14.9%
14.7%
14.3%
13.4%
13.1%
12.8%
12.4%
11.7%
11.6%
11.5%
11.3%
11.2%
11.0%
10.5%
10.5%
10.4%
10.1%
9.4%
9.2%
9.0%
9.0%
8.9%
8.8%
8.4%
8.1%
8.0%
7.8%
7.7%
66 | P a g e
89
Burundi
Ghana
Peru
Colombia
Rwanda
Botswana
Mexico
Cameroon
Angola
Ethiopia
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Pakistan
Dominican Rep.
90
Vietnam
91
Belize
Honduras
Uganda
Panama
Suriname
Bangladesh
Venezuela
Nicaragua
Central African
Rep.
Gabon
El Salvador
Mozambique
India
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
Total
GDP
GDP per
billions
Capita
$5.184
$600.00
$75.660
$3,100.00
$302.00 $10,100.00
$471.90 $10,200.00
$13.620
$1,300.00
$29.850 $16,100.00
$1,667.00 $14,700.00
$47.300
$2,300.00
$116.300
$5,900.00
$94.850
$1,100.00
$55.02 $11,900.00
$74.84
$5,100.00
$488.40
$2,800.00
$93.38
$9,300.00
$303.80
$3,400.00
$2.79
$8,200.00
$35.70
$4,400.00
$47.780
$1,400.00
$50.61 $14,100.00
$6.33 $11,800.00
$283.50
$1,900.00
$374.10 $12,600.00
$18.88
$3,200.00
$3.634
$24.770
$44.88
$24.000
$4,421.00
$800.00
$16,300.00
$7,500.00
$1,100.00
$3,700.00
Members
Tithe
131,371
382,915
355,873
295,852
524,132
32,827
693,450
103,812
409,137
193,019
66,516
232,996
14,225
284,789
10,590
37,213
249,497
193,019
96,999
4,385
34,823
251,979
118,747
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
593,109
8,683,089
24,718,125
20,059,368
4,516,998
2,944,962
56,571,923
1,314,940
11,370,115
962,396
3,582,403
5,312,106
164,937
9,920,272
134,429
1,126,269
3,960,576
962,396
4,781,031
175,034
193,330
8,842,281
1,051,576
10,539
3,820
210,272
$
$
$
$
$
23,105
158,269
3,584,322
624,378
4,829,832
284,807
1,607,775
16,523,559
Tithe per
capita
$
4.51
$
22.68
$
69.46
$
67.80
$
8.62
$
89.71
$
81.58
$
12.67
$
27.79
$
4.99
$
53.86
$
22.80
$
11.59
$
34.83
$
12.69
$
30.27
$
15.87
$
4.99
$
49.29
$
39.92
$
5.55
$
35.09
$
8.86
$
$
$
$
$
2.19
41.43
17.05
2.19
3.00
GTI
Ratio
7.5%
7.3%
6.9%
6.6%
6.6%
5.6%
5.5%
5.5%
4.7%
4.5%
4.5%
4.5%
4.1%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.6%
3.6%
3.5%
3.4%
2.9%
2.8%
2.8%
2.7%
2.5%
2.3%
2.0%
0.8%
$ 2,176,101,093
European Countries
Asian Countries
North American
Countries
African Countries
Inter/South American Countries
Pacific Countries
67 | P a g e
GTI Trendline
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
1
Switzerland
41.4%
47.1%
49.4%
46.9%
55.9%
51.7%
54.4%
62.3%
2
Moldova
23.2%
33.6%
36.1%
45.1%
51.8%
57.9%
73.0%
50.8%
3
Austria
39.9%
46.7%
48.9%
45.9%
53.5%
45.6%
47.0%
49.5%
4
Togo
8.4%
8.8%
7.8%
7.8%
8.7%
18.9%
18.9%
18.4%
5
Denmark
33.1%
38.4%
41.5%
37.2%
37.9%
39.8%
41.7%
42.9%
6
Germany
36.2%
34.4%
40.6%
37.7%
45.3%
40.9%
39.5%
40.7%
7
France
27.6%
27.5%
32.1%
29.8%
29.0%
30.6%
30.2%
33.3%
8
Norway
25.7%
25.2%
27.3%
26.5%
24.1%
26.2%
20.7%
26.0%
9
Australia
17.3%
19.8%
20.2%
22.1%
21.3%
23.0%
24.9%
21.9%
10
Portugal
25.2%
9.8%
32.3%
30.7%
36.1%
32.2%
34.6%
34.2%
11
Zimbabwe
55.1%
58.5%
58.3%
60.1%
61.9%
262.3%
237.4%
68.4%
12
Italy
24.7%
26.2%
27.7%
27.8%
27.7%
30.4%
29.9%
30.0%
13
Ukraine
10.1%
9.5%
9.4%
13.3%
16.1%
23.4%
26.7%
22.4%
2010
55.7%
48.1%
47.3%
32.0%
39.6%
36.9%
32.7%
29.7%
24.5%
30.8%
20.7%
27.4%
24.8%
2011
64.6%
53.1%
49.2%
41.5%
38.2%
38.1%
34.0%
34.0%
29.7%
29.4%
29.0%
28.5%
28.5%
14
Brazil
8.2%
7.4%
7.1%
10.0%
13.1%
15.6%
20.6%
21.1%
24.8%
27.7%
15
New Zealand
14.9%
17.6%
18.2%
18.3%
20.2%
24.6%
25.8%
20.8%
24.2%
27.5%
16
Japan
26.2%
24.9%
26.1%
23.2%
21.0%
21.1%
23.6%
25.8%
17
South Africa
8.5%
7.4%
14.4%
15.9%
18.8%
20.2%
23.0%
27.3%
27.3%
18
Russia
6.1%
8.7%
9.3%
15.9%
no
stats
26.3%
26.1%
16.0%
22.9%
18.4%
16.3%
19
Canada
19.4%
20.4%
20.9%
22.8%
22.8%
24.8%
24.3%
23.5%
20
Slovakia
15.7%
17.0%
14.6%
14.1%
18.8%
32.8%
28.4%
25.0%
21
Lesotho
7.5%
8.5%
8.3%
13.5%
12.5%
28.2%
24.5%
24.2%
22
United Kingdom
30.2%
29.2%
29.2%
30.3%
31.9%
31.0%
22.3%
24.9%
23
Spain
24.3%
26.8%
28.1%
28.0%
31.9%
28.4%
27.6%
24.7%
24
Paraguay
10.9%
12.2%
8.2%
8.4%
10.9%
15.4%
19.7%
14.9%
20.2%
24.9%
16.9%
26.3%
25.1%
22.4%
20.8%
26.6%
26.1%
25.4%
25.3%
24.9%
24.6%
24.6%
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
25
Czech Republic
18.2%
19.8%
25.0%
26.9%
21.0%
47.2%
25.2%
26.9%
26
Netherlands
21.8%
23.4%
21.4%
24.4%
25.2%
24.4%
22.2%
24.7%
27
Swaziland
9.0%
11.6%
12.2%
16.3%
14.5%
21.3%
24.2%
23.3%
28
Sweden
18.5%
22.0%
22.1%
21.5%
22.2%
22.3%
18.1%
23.0%
29
Romania
8.7%
10.5%
13.5%
16.6%
19.4%
23.2%
26.0%
24.6%
30
Estonia
12.4%
13.9%
13.9%
11.6%
14.6%
18.0%
19.4%
22.6%
31
Hungary
12.7%
20.7%
18.6%
19.8%
21.1%
21.5%
19.7%
32
Poland
18.1%
no
stats
4.1%
18.6%
20.6%
22.5%
26.2%
23.3%
22.7%
33
17.9%
20.9%
16.4%
20.4%
20.1%
19.3%
21.6%
23.1%
34
Belgium
Papua New
Guinea
6.5%
6.5%
11.2%
7.3%
8.6%
11.9%
13.3%
18.1%
35
Bermuda
37.8%
36.9%
37.4%
19.6%
19.6%
21.0%
21.6%
21.9%
36
Finland
17.4%
20.0%
19.6%
19.9%
18.7%
20.3%
20.6%
22.2%
37
Indonesia
8.8%
9.7%
8.6%
10.7%
11.9%
14.9%
15.4%
14.8%
38
Burma
3.7%
3.5%
4.7%
6.3%
15.5%
6.1%
12.9%
16.8%
39
Cap Verde
29.3%
NA
17.7%
17.1%
18.7%
40
Madagascar
16.0%
19.3%
12.8%
11.6%
12.1%
14.5%
15.8%
31.4%
41
B. Faso
16.9%
18.0%
17.0%
31.8%
38.0%
34.2%
44.1%
20.9%
42
USA
21.2%
19.6%
18.4%
19.1%
19.0%
18.3%
18.1%
17.0%
43
Bulgaria
14.5%
13.6%
14.0%
13.1%
14.5%
17.6%
19.8%
18.1%
44
Thailand
7.8%
8.4%
10.5%
11.9%
9.7%
13.7%
15.1%
15.6%
45
Uruguay
11.5%
4.7%
5.1%
9.1%
9.8%
11.1%
12.3%
12.4%
46
Cote d'Ivoire
15.5%
15.0%
11.8%
10.5%
11.8%
14.0%
13.1%
15.2%
47
Congo DRC
2.0%
2.1%
1.7%
2.3%
2.9%
7.7%
9.9%
9.6%
48
Bolivia
5.6%
5.5%
4.7%
4.2%
3.9%
2.9%
3.7%
11.2%
49
Latvia
7.7%
8.1%
9.0%
9.9%
9.1%
11.1%
14.9%
14.8%
50
Singapore
23.1%
16.9%
14.6%
14.2%
15.8%
11.8%
12.5%
11.4%
51
Malawi
8.6%
8.4%
9.1%
9.5%
11.9%
9.0%
11.7%
14.1%
52
Mauritius
12.5%
12.9%
9.8%
11.3%
10.4%
12.0%
14.8%
12.7%
NA
NA
NA
2010
23.1%
22.8%
27.5%
22.6%
24.4%
22.0%
20.8%
2011
24.4%
23.3%
23.2%
23.1%
22.7%
22.1%
22.0%
22.6%
20.2%
21.7%
21.6%
17.3%
20.6%
21.2%
18.0%
15.3%
16.9%
19.3%
21.2%
16.8%
15.0%
15.2%
13.4%
11.4%
11.2%
13.2%
13.9%
12.0%
13.3%
13.3%
21.3%
21.0%
20.9%
20.9%
18.7%
18.2%
17.6%
16.5%
16.4%
16.2%
16.1%
15.7%
15.4%
18.7%
14.9%
14.7%
14.3%
13.4%
13.1%
69 | P a g e
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
53
Benin
9.5%
17.5%
4.9%
12.4%
13.0%
11.2%
12.1%
12.3%
54
Argentina
4.7%
4.9%
5.1%
5.7%
6.4%
8.6%
10.6%
10.8%
55
Namibia
2.7%
3.9%
4.8%
5.6%
5.5%
8.9%
7.4%
8.4%
56
Croatia
0.9%
30.9%
31.4%
32.7%
29.9%
31.4%
30.0%
30.1%
57
Cambodia
6.3%
6.0%
6.3%
4.9%
4.7%
10.4%
10.3%
11.0%
58
Fiji
5.9%
7.9%
7.9%
7.8%
13.5%
14.8%
13.7%
10.7%
59
Ecuador
9.3%
8.4%
8.3%
7.2%
6.8%
3.9%
5.1%
12.5%
60
Belarus
6.1%
10.1%
11.2%
13.5%
14.6%
13.3%
14.5%
10.8%
61
Chile
5.3%
5.2%
5.3%
6.0%
4.9%
7.0%
7.8%
62
Nigeria
11.0%
11.6%
10.3%
5.6%
no
stats
10.7%
8.0%
9.9%
9.1%
63
Hong Kong
18.3%
16.6%
11.8%
12.0%
12.4%
10.6%
10.2%
12.7%
64
Taiwan
15.8%
12.2%
11.3%
10.8%
10.7%
9.6%
10.0%
8.9%
65
Bahamas
24.1%
21.8%
18.6%
17.2%
18.0%
14.6%
9.4%
13.3%
66
Zambia
4.8%
5.7%
6.2%
6.6%
8.9%
7.2%
8.3%
6.4%
67
Haiti
5.7%
4.3%
5.0%
4.2%
4.7%
7.2%
7.4%
8.1%
68
Tanzania
10.5%
9.6%
8.9%
9.0%
8.6%
6.8%
7.3%
7.2%
69
Kenya
5.2%
7.0%
6.6%
8.0%
8.6%
7.5%
8.6%
8.8%
70
Grenada
20.2%
19.0%
18.3%
27.7%
27.4%
10.5%
9.4%
12.5%
71
Jamaica
18.9%
17.6%
15.1%
15.5%
15.3%
9.7%
8.7%
8.6%
72
Chad
1.9%
9.8%
4.6%
1.2%
6.0%
7.2%
9.2%
7.2%
73
2.3%
2.5%
2.7%
4.6%
5.1%
8.8%
9.1%
8.4%
74
Philippines
Trinidad &
Tobago
7.1%
6.5%
7.8%
5.6%
4.3%
4.4%
5.9%
7.6%
75
Korea South
9.6%
11.5%
10.8%
8.0%
7.5%
Burundi
3.1%
2.5%
10.1%
no
stats
10.8%
76
11.2%
No
Stats
3.1%
6.3%
9.8%
10.4%
77
Ghana
3.5%
3.3%
2.2%
3.5%
4.1%
8.7%
9.7%
9.1%
78
Peru
2.6%
2.4%
2.0%
2.0%
2.5%
1.9%
3.7%
4.7%
79
Rwanda
2.9%
2.8%
2.4%
3.1%
3.7%
7.3%
8.3%
7.5%
2010
8.8%
11.9%
10.9%
27.1%
11.0%
10.0%
12.6%
10.8%
9.0%
2011
12.8%
12.4%
11.7%
11.6%
11.5%
11.3%
11.2%
11.0%
10.5%
8.8%
10.3%
9.0%
11.8%
8.0%
8.8%
8.7%
9.2%
10.9%
8.3%
11.7%
8.8%
10.5%
10.4%
10.1%
9.4%
9.2%
9.0%
9.0%
8.9%
8.8%
8.4%
8.1%
8.0%
6.8%
7.7%
7.8%
7.7%
11.4%
7.0%
5.0%
6.9%
7.5%
7.3%
6.9%
6.6%
70 | P a g e
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
80
Colombia
4.2%
3.9%
4.1%
4.3%
4.1%
6.6%
5.7%
5.3%
81
Botswana
4.6%
5.7%
6.2%
5.3%
5.1%
4.1%
5.2%
5.8%
82
Mexico
6.6%
4.4%
5.5%
6.0%
6.5%
6.0%
5.7%
5.2%
83
Cameroon
3.0%
3.0%
2.2%
3.1%
3.8%
4.1%
4.2%
84
Angola
2.7%
no
stats
0.2%
2.4%
2.0%
3.4%
1.2%
2.8%
3.4%
85
Ethiopia
3.6%
4.0%
3.8%
4.0%
4.5%
5.7%
5.3%
4.7%
86
Guatemala
4.5%
4.1%
3.8%
4.2%
3.5%
3.4%
3.8%
4.0%
87
Costa Rica
4.5%
4.3%
3.6%
3.2%
2.9%
3.1%
3.5%
3.7%
88
Pakistan
4.6%
4.4%
2.4%
4.8%
4.6%
3.7%
4.0%
89
Dominican Rep.
5.3%
no
stats
0.8%
3.1%
4.5%
4.5%
4.5%
4.1%
4.0%
90
Belize
7.3%
5.7%
4.1%
6.4%
3.6%
3.5%
No data
13.6%
91
Venezuela
7.0%
5.3%
3.7%
4.5%
5.4%
2.0%
2.8%
2.7%
92
Vietnam
7.2%
1.0%
1.9%
1.8%
1.9%
4.0%
4.2%
4.2%
93
Uganda
3.6%
3.0%
3.5%
3.0%
2.6%
7.3%
6.6%
6.4%
94
Honduras
5.1%
4.0%
3.8%
3.9%
3.8%
3.3%
3.3%
3.5%
95
Panama
6.6%
6.1%
5.2%
4.9%
4.0%
3.4%
3.3%
3.5%
96
Suriname
9.1%
8.8%
8.4%
5.8%
5.3%
4.9%
5.3%
4.6%
97
Bangladesh
2.2%
3.1%
2.8%
2.2%
2.0%
2.9%
3.6%
3.6%
98
Nicaragua
Central African
Rep.
4.2%
4.2%
3.7%
3.4%
2.7%
3.0%
3.3%
3.0%
1.7%
1.5%
1.7%
1.3%
2.1%
3.1%
3.8%
3.1%
100
Gabon
4.5%
5.0%
4.5%
3.4%
3.5%
2.2%
2.8%
1.9%
101
El Salvador
3.8%
3.7%
6.5%
2.4%
2.3%
Mozambique
3.9%
No
stats
3.2%
102
4.0%
no
stats
0.7%
0.8%
2.0%
0.9%
1.6%
1.6%
103
India
0.9%
0.8%
0.5%
0.6%
0.8%
0.9%
0.9%
0.8%
99
2010
6.1%
5.8%
5.4%
4.8%
2011
6.6%
5.6%
5.6%
5.5%
2.9%
4.5%
4.3%
4.0%
5.0%
4.7%
4.5%
4.5%
4.5%
4.1%
3.9%
3.6%
2.5%
5.1%
6.2%
3.5%
3.4%
4.0%
3.2%
2.9%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.6%
3.6%
3.5%
3.4%
2.9%
2.8%
2.9%
2.4%
2.3%
2.7%
2.5%
2.3%
1.6%
0.9%
2.0%
0.8%
71 | P a g e
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Switzerland
Austria
Norway
Bermuda
Germany
Denmark
Australia
France
Canada
Netherlands
Ten Highest Tithe per
Capita
GDP in
Billions
GDP per
Capita
$353.60
$349.90
$265.50
$5.85
$3,114.00
$206.00
$915.10
$2,214.00
$1,395.00
$701.40
$44,500.00
$41,600.00
$53,400.00
$69,900.00
$38,100.00
$37,000.00
$40,800.00
$35,100.00
$40,500.00
$42,000.00
Membership
4,358
3,928
4,570
3,940
35,099
2,509
56,741
12,993
63,681
4,943
Total tithes
Tithes per
capita
GTI
Ratio
$12,534,854
$ 8,043,605
$ 8,306,487
$ 5,790,603
$50,989,750
$ 3,544,521
$68,708,381
$15,323,457
$67,192,036
$ 4,835,185
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
2,876.29
2,047.76
1,817.61
1,469.70
1,452.74
1,412.72
1,210.91
1,179.36
1,055.13
978.19
64.6%
49.2%
34.0%
21.0%
38.1%
38.2%
29.7%
33.6%
26.1%
23.3%
TithesbyDivisions2002‐2011
ECD
ESD
EUD
IAD
NAD
NSD
SAD
SID
SPD
SSD
SUD
TED
WAD
GC
2002
$7,877,596
$7,443,583
$74,480,205
$121,917,177
$707,805,152
$46,102,361
$87,943,467
$13,234,472
$34,063,645
$20,287,524
$1,522,891
$32,779,718
$4,951,205
$1,117,011
2010
$23,285,734
$31,812,594
$129,667,716
$206,987,023
$887,976,937
$69,047,624
$407,333,740
$64,789,765
$84,941,730
$49,392,557
$4,661,547
$60,834,776
$15,731,662
$1,204,889
2011
$27,841,458.00
$35,460,867
$142,605,182
$222,360,237
$923,139,205
$73,887,273
$511,548,033
$78,725,650
$102,187,292
$57,497,327
$4,830,328
$66,854,606
$19,795,343
$871,176
Increase
% '02-'11
253%
376%
91%
82%
30%
60%
482%
495%
200%
183%
217%
104%
300%
-22%
Increase
% '10-'11
19.6%
11.5%
10.0%
7.4%
4.0%
7.0%
25.6%
21.5%
20.3%
16.4%
3.6%
9.9%
25.8%
-27.7%
Total
$1,161,526,007
$2,037,668,294
$2,267,603,977
95%
11.3%
73 | P a g e