World In Review──2024

by Guy LaMar

Here are a few interesting percentage polls within the United States of America and around the world.

The estimated population of the United States is about 342 Million people.

In 2022, an estimated 47.9 million people self-identified as Black, making up 14.4% of the country’s population. 1 In 2023, about 65.22 million people of Hispanic origin were living in the U.S., which has steadily increased in the last decades. 2 More than 24 million Asian Americans lived in the United States as of 2022, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. They accounted for 7% of the nation’s population that year and are the fastest-growing major racial or ethnic group in the country. 3 75.3% are white people. 1.3% are American Indian and Alaska Native. 4 The population of Arab Americans in the United States is nearly 3.5 million. 5 Michigan has the highest number and percentage of Arab Americans at 2.1%, respectively. 6 As of 2023, there were more than 2.9 million Indian immigrants residing in the United States, making it the second most popular global destination for Indians after the United Arab Emirates. 7

The majority of the U.S. black population lives in the South. 8

Top 5 U.S. states by share of total U.S. Hispanic population in 2021: California 25%, Texas 19%, Florida 9%, New York 6%, and Arizona 4%. 9

As of 2020, the share of the total population ages 65 and older is largest in Maine, Florida, West Virginia, and Vermont. Over 20% of the population in these states is elderly. The first members of the baby boom generation, or the group of people born between 1946 and 1964, turned 65 in 2011.

The state of California has the highest percentage of Hispanic people at 39.4 million. 10

The Asian American population has increased in every state and the District of Columbia over the past two decades. California had an Asian population of roughly 5.9 million in 2019, by far the nation’s largest. 11

When it comes to states of residence, Texas is home to the largest Black population, at about 4.2 million. 12

In a recent survey conducted among Americans, 7.2% of respondents identified themselves as part of the LGBT community. In 2001, 53% of respondents stated they believed gay or lesbian relations to be morally wrong, but in 2022 this number had fallen to 25%. Americans that believe same-sex couples should be recognized by law──71%. Attitudes towards homosexuality vary by region or country, though global trends generally suggest that acceptance of homosexuality is increasing. Overall, acceptance of the LGBT community is highest in Europe, Argentina, and Canada, where more than 70 percent of the public declared that support same-sex marriage by society, with the Netherlands heading the ranking. Moreover, surveys suggest that women were more likely to identify as LGBT than men. 13

However, in 2019, Colin Poitras of the Yale School of Medicine wrote, “an estimated 83% … who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual — keep their orientation hidden from all or most of the people in their lives. … The study found that concealment is highest in certain African and Middle Eastern countries and lowest in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.” 14 A 2017 SAGE Journals article by Amin Ghaziani places gays and lesbians in America at 23%, and that 37% of the LGB population are in the closet. 15

Of course, it is the left-wing liberals who are promoting this Queer Agenda!

In the United States of America ──there are 165.28 million males and 168 million females. 16

According to a Gallup survey in 2023 about 67% is Christians in the U.S. 17 Islam is the third-largest religion in the United States (1.34%). 2.4% are Jewish. 18

In a 2019 Lifeway Research survey conducted of 1,010 American churchgoers, only 5% take a Sabbath rest on Saturday. 19

Truly, only the LORD God knows ── of the population of the United States of America ── who are to be called a true Christian. In other words – those who are led by the Spirit of God, and are considered children of God – cf. Romans 8:14-15. Those who have been properly baptized have hands laid upon them, have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, are faithful and obedient to the Law of God, and those who properly keep the holy Sabbath and the Holy Days.

According to a 2022 survey, 31% of Americans never attend church or synagogue, compared to 20% of Americans who attend every week. 20

Top three countries with the Highest Murder Rates (per 100k people) in 2022:

● Jamaica ──53.34

● Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ──40.41

● Trinidad and Tobago ──39.52

The United States of America had a murder rate of 6.38 (per 100k people) in 2022. However, it did have a high share of global homicides at 19.07%! 21

Mississippi’s homicide rate — the highest in the nation — is more than 11 times New Hampshire’s — the nation’s lowest. Age-adjusted homicide rate per 100,000 people in 2022 ── Mississippi 20.7%, Louisiana 19.8%, Alabama 14.9%, and New Mexico 14.5%. Although Washington, D.C., had a higher age-adjusted homicide rate (23.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 people) than every state, the national capital is entirely urban, and it’s more appropriate to compare it to counties in major metropolitan areas. Among those, Washington, D.C., had the eighth-highest crude homicide death rate. 22

According to far-left-leaning CNN, there were an average of 98,990 abortions each month in the first three months of 2024. That’s about 14% higher than the average from the same period last year, or about 12,000 more abortions each month. 23 There were more than 1 million abortions in the US in 2023, the highest rate in more than a decade and a 10% jump from 2020, according to a report released … by the Guttmacher Institute. 24 Conservatively, since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, there have been roughly 60 million abortions! – according to the biased and far left-leaning Fact Check! 25 A recent report indicates that the number of women getting abortions in the United States has increased since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 26

The United States of America has a national debt of $36.3 TRILLION as of the writing of this article. 27

In 2023, there were 720,652 full-time law enforcement officers employed in the United States, an increase from 708,001 the previous year. 28 And, according to two sources, in 2020, federal law enforcement agencies in the United States employed almost 137,000 full-time federal law enforcement officers who were authorized to make arrests, carry firearms, or both. 29

As of September 2023, the US military consisted of 2.86 million people worldwide. The US military's strength of 2.86 million troops is slightly greater than the population of Chicago, Illinois, the country's third-largest city. Of those military members, the Department of Defense (DOD) listed nearly 1.29 million people as active-duty troops, and 767,238 as national guard/reserves. 30

Top Three Countries with the Highest Number of Active-Duty Military Personnel (in members):

● China ──2,185,000 (Reserve 1,170,000)

● India ──1,455,550 (Reserve 1,155,000)

● United States ──1,328,000 (Reserve 744, 950) 31

According to Mitchell Crow of Geographic FAQ, the United States of America has the most advanced military technology in the world. However, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom are also countries with advanced military technology. 32

Currently, about 13,080 nuclear warheads exist worldwide, with Russia holding the most (6,257) and the U.S. following (5,550). 33 For the longest the United States of America led the nuclear bomb race. But in recent years Russia won over the United States in the nuclear arms race. Regardless of how many each nation has it wouldn't take but a few to destroy the entire Earth.

There are over 210 million registered voters in the United States. The number of registered voters for the Republican Party is approximately 38.8 million. The Democratic voters have historically held an edge over Republican voters, and recent data shows that this data is still holding true. The number of Democratic voters is reported to be around 49 million. 34 This, of course, does not reflect this last U.S. Presidential election! From what happened in the last election it appears that there are more Republicans than there are Democrats.

Around the world, teetotalism is extremely popular. Teetotalism, or complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages, is a common practice around the world.

● Libya ──99.5%

● Afghanistan ──99.1%

● Iran ──96%

Interestingly, out of 187 countries studied in 2023, the United States of America comes in at 9.2%! 35

Of WORLD RELIGIONS:

● Christianity, with about 2.38 billion followers, is the world's largest religion, deeply diversified into numerous denominations like Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy.

● Islam, followed by over 1.91 billion people, is the second-largest religion and is expected to nearly match Christianity's following by 2050.

● A significant number of people, nearly 1.2 billion worldwide, are unaffiliated with any religion or hold Atheist beliefs, especially in China and Japan.

● Hinduism - 1.16 billion

● Buddhism - 507 million

● Folk Religions - 430 million

● Judaism - 14.6 million 36

There are an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest so-called “Christian” organization in the world! 37

There are hundreds of offshoots and splinter groups from the Church of God (i.e. Worldwide Church of God and the different incarnations of it) therefore, it is impossible to list, or keep track of, all of them. Of the major church groups ── those with the largest claimed members ── here are but a few:

● The Christian Biblical Church of God.

● The Living Church of God.

● The United Church of God.

● The Church of God International.

● The Intercontinental Church of God.

● Church of God (A Worldwide Association)

● The Church of God (International Ministries)

● Church of God Ministries.

Two other major groups claim to have large membership that I WILL NOT MENTION. Because they are very much based upon their leader other than our Leader and Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, their fruits are rotten ── blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14). Although they have money to spend, they allow their church leaders to be the main focus. Which is extremely dangerous and blasphemous. The members of those organizations appear to do whatever their “guru” leader tells them to do.

Many small church groups in the United States of America are doing their part in God’s living work faithfully. And many of them are having a growth spurt! Many INTERNET GROUPS are also doing their part in the living work of God. Such as the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries. As for The Independent Christian Church of God, the hope is to have a growth spurt within the next 12 months ──God willing. Our goal is to invest money into the effort of obtaining a church building to help this quest. □

Bibliography:

1 Moslimani, M., Tamir, C., Budiman, A., Neo-Bustamante, L., and Mora, L., Facts About the U.S. Black Population, Pew Research Center, 18 Jan. 2024.

2 Statista Research Dept., Hispanic population in the U.S. - statistics & facts, Statista, 24 Oct. 2024.

3 Pew Research Center, Asian Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

4 United States Census Bureau, Quick Facts U.S., Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

5 Wikipedia contributors. "Arab Americans." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 Dec. 2024. Web. 3 Jan. 2025.

6 World Population, Arab Population by State 2024, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

7 Greene, M., and Batalova, J., Indian Immigrants in the United States, MPI (Migration Policy Institute), 8 Nov. 2024.https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/indian-immigrants-united-states-2024

8 Op. cit. (1)

9 Op. cit. (2)

10 Op. Cit. (2)

11 Budiman, A., and Ruiz, N., Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S., Pew Research Center, 9 April 2021.

12 Op. Cit. (1)

13 Statista Research Department, Homosexuality in the United States - Statistics & Facts, Statista, 3 July 2024.

14 Poitras, C., The ‘Global Closet’ is Huge—Vast Majority of World’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Population Hide Orientation, YSPH Study Finds, Yale School of Medicine, 13 June 2019.

15 Ghaziani, A., The Closet, Teaching & Learning t, 27 Sept. 2017.

16 Statista, Gender distribution of the resident population of the United States from 1980 to 2022, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2024.

17 "In Depth Topics: A to Z; Religion". Gallup. June 8, 2007. Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

18 Wikiwand, Islam in the United States, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

19 Church Executive, Church Trends & Statistics, 29 Jan. 2019.

20 Korhonen, V., How often do you attend church or synagogue - at least once a week, almost every week, about once a month, seldom, or never? Statista, 5 July 2024.

21 World Population Review, Murder Rate by Country 2024, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

22 The USA Facts team, USA Facts, Which states have the highest murder rates?, 24 May 2024.

23 McPhillips, D., Monthly abortions continue to trend up in the US in 2024, new report shows, CNN, 7 Aug. 2024.

24 McPhillips, D., US abortions reach highest level in over a decade, sparked by surge in medication abortion, CNN, 19 March 2024.

25 Siviak, D., https://checkyourfact.com/2018/07/03/fact-check-60-million-abortions/.

26 Foster, R., Abortions have increased, even in states with bans, report finds, Medical press, 23 Oct. 2024.

27 https://www.usdebtclock.org/.

28 Korhonen, V., Number of full-time law enforcement officers in the United States from 2004 to 2023, Statista, 14 Nov. 2024.

29 https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/fleo20st.pdf

30 USA Facts team, How many people are in the US military? A demographic overview, USA Facts, 21 Feb. 2024.

31 World Population Review, Military Size by Country 2024, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

32 Crow, M., Who has the most advanced military technology in the world? Geographic FAQ, 18 June 2024.

33 Worldwide Population Review, Nuclear Weapons by Country 2024, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

34 Worldwide Population Review, Registered Voters by Party 2024, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

35 World Population Review, Teetotalism by Country 2024, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

36 World Population Review, Religion by Country 2024, Retrieved 3 Jan. 2025.

37 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-21443313. BBC. 14 March 2013.