Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)
Jan 27: Asia, Trends to Watch - Asia
Asia
World
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Geography
Area: 31,829,200 sq kmApproximately 23.5% of the world’s surface area. Russia east of the Ural Mountains is geographically part of Asia, but here all of the Russian Federation is included with Europe. Included here are the Trans-Caucasus states (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) as well as the West Asian/Middle Eastern countries. Includes amazing geographic and ecological diversity – tropical rain forest, desert, alluvial plains, hills and the world’s highest
Population: 4,166,741,314 Annual Growth: 1.10%
Urbanites: 43%
Peoples
Peoples: 4,860 (0% unreached)Languages: 2,322
Religion
Largest Religion: Muslim| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 368,075,984 | 8.83 | 2.3 |
| Evangelicals | 146,854,085 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Muslim | 1,100,825,428 | 26.42 |
Answer to Prayer
Church growth in Asia continues to be remarkable; for its sheer scale, for its unprecedented occurrence in previously unevangelized nations and regions and, in many areas, for how long it has been sustained. Some of the greatest growth in the past decade or two has been in China, India, Nepal, Iran, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam and, although unverifiable, North Korea.All Christians have increased from 22 million (2.3%) in 1900 to nearly 370 million (8.8%) in 2010.
Protestant, Independent and Anglican Christians increased from under 3 million (0.3%) in 1900 to nearly 200 million (4.9%) in 2010.
Catholic growth was slower, but still significant - from 11.1 million (1.2%) to 142 million (3.4%) over the same period.
Evangelicals in Asia, nearly 150 million, now number more than those on any other continent apart from Africa. It is also the continent with the second-fastest growing evangelical population; if measured only by conversion rate (and not including biological growth), Asia has the fastest growing evangelical population by a significant margin - 33% faster than any other region.
For an additional 8 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Asia.Trends to Watch - Asia
Asia
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Challenge for Prayer
The supply of safe water, increasingly in demand but in ever-scarcer supply, is an international issue that will only become more hotly contested. Climate change will also have an unpredictable effect on water supply, dramatically affecting the most vulnerable areas; it will affect agriculture, sanitation and the health of millions. Preventable water-related issues cause a high proportion of child mortality. There are genuine possibilities of huge numbers of refugees and even war as a result of water scarcity. Greater tensions will most likely concern the Jordan River (Arabs and Israelis), the Tigris/Euphrates Rivers (Turkey, Syria, Iraq), the Amu Darya/Syr Daria/Aral Sea (Central Asia), the Indus/Ganges/Brahmaputra Rivers (South Asia) and the Mekong River (China and Southeast Asia).For an additional 11 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
