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Authority and accountability · Claim record

For the 2025 service year (1 Sept 2024 – 31 Aug 2025) the organisation reported a peak of 9,205,326 publishers, an average of 9,047,083, 304,643 baptisms and a Memorial attendance of 20,635,015; it counts as 'Jehovah's Witnesses' only those who report preaching activity each month, so the headline figure excludes non-preaching attenders and differs from census self-identification.

Claim ID claim-authority-2025-membership-figures-and-publisher-definitionConcerns 31 August 2025Context
Context · 31 August 2025 Verified

For the 2025 service year (1 Sept 2024 – 31 Aug 2025) the organisation reported a peak of 9,205,326 publishers, an average of 9,047,083, 304,643 baptisms and a Memorial attendance of 20,635,015; it counts as 'Jehovah's Witnesses' only those who report preaching activity each month, so the headline figure excludes non-preaching attenders and differs from census self-identification. 2025 Service Year Report of Jehovah’s Witnesses Worldwide, 2025jw.org (FAQ), 19 September 2026

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

2025 Service Year Report of Jehovah’s Witnesses Worldwide, “2025 Grand Totals”

2025 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“Peak of Publishers: 9,205,326; Average Publishers Preaching Each Month: 9,047,083; Percentage of Increase Over 2024: 2.5; Total Number Baptized: 304,643; Worldwide Memorial Attendance: 20,635,015; Memorial Partakers Worldwide: 24,576; Total Congregations: 119,652; Number of Lands Reporting: 241; Branches: 84. Footnote a: “A publisher refers to one who actively publishes, or preaches, the good news of God’s Kingdom.””

Service year 1 September 2024 – 31 August 2025.

Official source Archived or alternative copy

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened both the jw.org page and the WOL copy (full text).

Corroborated by. src-jworg-2026-0000-faq-how-many-jw

Notes. PDF also at https://cfp2.jw-cdn.org/a/c801d1/1/o/syr25_E.pdf (not opened).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-syr-2025-0000-grand-totals

Primary JW publication Verified

jw.org (FAQ), “How Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses Are There Worldwide?”

19 September 2026 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“9,205,326 … we count only those who are actively preaching the good news of God's Kingdom each month”

Explains that monthly reports flow from congregations to branches to headquarters; the peak for each country is compiled; non-preaching associates are not counted; and explains why government census figures (which rely on self-identification) are higher than its count.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened the live jw.org page (2025 figures displayed).

Corroborated by. src-syr-2025-0000-grand-totals

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-jworg-2026-0000-faq-how-many-jw

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-authority-2025-membership-figures-and-publisher-definition/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.