West Europe
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[edit] West Europe
The nations of Western Europe have completely recovered from the World War II era, and transitioned past the Cold War into the European decade. France (the geographically largest Western European nation) and Germany (the most populous and largest economy) are the two powerhouses. With vast resources, strong infrastructure, large industries, Western Europe plays a central role in the world’s economic and political systems.
Western Europe is responsible for over half of Europe’s GNP, and 16% of the global economy. It’s not surprising both France and Germany have been attracting tens of thousands of migrant workers. It’s also not surprising these nations are attempting to modernize and globalize their economies further, while maintaining their significant social infrastructure. Although some industries have been privatized, most governments retain significant stakes in leading firms and use government regulation to reduce the gaps between rich and poor and provide for health and welfare. All of Western Europe must come to grips with an aging workforce, presenting problems for medical care and pensions.
The governments are stable. Belgium faces some ethnic tensions, but overall no government in this region is likely to fall any time soon. Western Europe is a key player in the European Union.
Christianity came to the region in the early centuries after Christ, and as with the rest of Europe has had a rich history here. Nominalism is widespread; although increasing in numbers, Christianity's share of the population is now generally in decline. This decline has become so marked that old, unused churches are frequently being converted into Islamic mosques and restaurants [1]. Still Christians (if in name only) form the vast majority of the population and there is freedom to worship and evangelize. Numerous mission agencies are at work alongside national evangelistic ministries. Ministries to minorities such as Muslims have been a particular focus in France and Germany.
[edit] Statistics for the Six Countries of Western Europe
| Name | P ‘00 | P ‘25 | C ‘00 | % | C ‘25 | % | 75-00 | 00-25 | Issues affecting the future | |
| Austria | 8.1 | 8.3 | 6.8 | 84% | 6.7 | 80% | + - | + - | Aging, industrial, stable, high living standard. | |
| Belgium | 10.3 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 87% | 8.5 | 81% | + - | + - | Ethnic tensions, high debt, migrant workers. | |
| France | 59.3 | 63.4 | 41.3 | 70% | 40.8 | 64% | + - | + - | Political leadership, stable economy in transition, aging. | |
| Germany | 82.3 | 82.0 | 62.2 | 76% | 58.9 | 72% | + - | - - | Stable, 5th largest economy, aging.w | |
| Netherlands | 15.9 | 17.2 | 11.5 | 72% | 10.7 | 62% | + - | + - | Stable, prosperous. | |
| Switzerland | 7.2 | 7.4 | 6.1 | 85% | 6.2 | 83% | + - | + - | Stable, wealthy, immigrants, neutrality. |
[edit] Key to the above charts:
P’00 - Population, AD 2000 P’25 - Population, AD2025 C’00 - Christianity, AD 2000 (followed by the percentage of the overall population) C’25 - Christianity, AD2025 projection, World Christian Database (followed by percentage of overall population) 75-00 - Growth rate. The first (+/-) indicates whether Christianity is growing or declining; the second (+/-) indicates whether it is growing faster or slower than the population (thus whether Christianity’s influence is growing or declining). (+-) means Christianity is growing, but not as fast as the population, and so is declining as a share of the country. 00-25 - Growth rate projected for AD2000-2025 Issues - A brief encapsulation of the issues affecting the growth of Christianity in the nation
[edit] Least-Reached Peoples in Western Europe
- Twenty-eight nations are included in the Western Europe region which has a population of 18,436,000 people with little access to the gospel (4.7% of its overall population). Besides the 131 Islamic least-reached people groups living in Western Europe, there are 32 groups following Ethnic Religions such as Judaism. The largest two of these groups are the French-speaking Jews of France and the Auvergnat of France. There are 16 Buddhist groups still considered least-reached including the largest -- the Khmer of France. Four nonreligious least-reached groups are led in size by the Picard of France. Three groups follow other small religions and include the Punjabi of the United Kingdom and two have unknown religious affiliations including the Yugoslav of the Netherlands.
- Three least-reached groups in Western Europe still have no Bible and no Jesus Film in their own language? These are the Libyan Arabs of Belgium, the North African Arabs of Italy and the South Asians of Belgium. Pray that God will bring them His Word in their own languages soon! The largest least-reached people group in Western Europe are the Sunni Muslim Turks in Germany?
