The prophecies [had] consisted of statements such as:

The book explains how Rutherford got his idea for world rule – he got it from the theology of the previous WTS president Charles Taze Russell:

In 1926 Rutherford also moved the 1878 Kingdom in heaven to 1914. (JWs: A Statistical Survey, p. 268)

From 1919 to 1938 Rutherford turned the formerly loosely organized "Russellites" into a hierarchy where people at each level reported to the level above – ultimately to the WTS president.

Meetings consisted of reading The Watchtower magazine and answering set questions by quoting The Watchtower – unplanned comment was disallowed. To enforce all this, dissenters were shunned by "loyal ones" who in turn were motivated by threats and discriptions of imminent world destruction called "Armageddon".

Critics soon considered J Ws "the most totalitarian system on the face of the earth." J W leaders, in contrast, wrote of  "Our Godly Unity."

Rutherford’s idea, suggests the Statistical Survey book, was that comparatively small numbers of people acting as one person will eventually dominate the divided majority and take over.

The Statistical Survey book extrapolates to the year 2000 some of the statistics available by 1991. Some of these projections are shown in the accompanying chart.

The Statistical Survey book gives many quotes such as:

Join us in the great movement that will prevent further bloodshed and revolution and usher in the new world.
(Peoples Pulpit 1922 November 1)

After the wise men have failed to convert the world, God purposes to do it by the simple and seemingly foolish method of preaching.
(The Watchtower 1929 October 15 p. 316)

That righteous Kingdom rule must keep growing and expanding until it fills the whole earth.
(Yearbook of J Ws 1985 p. 61)  

The chart accompanying this article suggests that most of the 2000 AD targets, as projected from the 1991 figures, will not be reached. This is because the overall, worldwide, annual expansion rate of the J Ws slowed to around 4% in the 1990s.

The chart suggests a general malaise among J Ws in the Western World. The reason is probably the doctrinal change which redefined the "generation of 1914".

From 1982 to 1995 Awake! magazine had the statement:

Pentecostals, Mormons and Adventists are growing faster than J Ws. The Statistical Survey book, however, considers whether the religious/political unity of J Ws across over 200 countries might, in the long run, come into decisive effect as societies advance toward a "global village". Worldwide unity controlled by a central authority could become important if the world experiences problems which only global concerted effort can overcome.

Working against the J W hierarchy is the loss of credibility due to their failed prophecies for specific dates such as 1918, 1925, 1936, 1942, 1975, 2000, etc. (Investigator 56)

The Ratio column show the proportion of J Ws to the world population and to the populations of the countries listed.

[Note: "Publishers" are the door to door preachers and "Memorial" refers to the annual remembrance of Christ's death attended by every J W and persons interested in the sect.]

Making the change in 1995 also avoided having the 1914 generation prophecies fail almost simultaneously with another date for Armageddon – "within our twentieth century." It avoided a "double whammy".

Past experience of J W prophecy failure suggests the J Ws will eventually recover in all countries.

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[Update 2013: Many of the projections made in 1992 for the year 2000
 and which fell short have now (in 2013) been achieved and even surpassed.]