According to the organization Business For Diplomatic Action, if you shrank the earth’s population to a village of only 100 people and maintained all the existing human ratios, there would be:
61 from Asia
21 from China
17 from India
13 from Africa
12 from Europe
5 from the U.S.
1 from Australia and New Zealand
Of those. . .
22 speak a Chinese dialect, 18
of whom speak Mandarin
9 speak English
8 speak Hindi
And there would be. . .
50 females
50 males
Their religious affiliation would be:
32 Christians
68 non-Christians, 15
of whom are nonreligious
19 Muslims
6 Buddhists
1 Jew
And there would be. . .
30 who have enough to eat
88 old enough to read, 17
of whom cannot read at all
1 teacher
---o0o---
8 comments:
This is an interesting snapshot but I don't think that Jews represent 1% of the world's population. I know that defining Jewishness is challenging but most info I have seen shows that, globally, Jews don't surpass the 15,000,000 mark. The data found at the following is consistent with what I have learned at UJA Fed of NY http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html
Well, I just put it out there without a lot of research! Shocking, eh?
I wondered about that too--because 1% would be like, what 35 million?
I trust your numbers---UJA probably has zero interest in understating the numbers.
On the other hand, I seem to recall reading in the last year or two that Judaism is the number one or two (along with Mormonism) fastest growing religion in the world. . .but I think that might refer to Orthodox. Also, I don't know how they counted ethnic vs. religious Jews.
Actually, 1% exceeds 65 mil. A few years ago I read a really fascinating book entitled "Jew vs. Jew -- The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry" by Samuel Freedman. It described how the great influences of secular Judaism in American culture had peaked and that the future of Jewish life, at least in America, would belong to the rapidly growing orthodox communities. You can imagine the tensions that arise when the waning secular community feels itself being usruped by orthodox values. Freedman offers as a case study the clash over public school funding in a changing Cleveland suburb. It's what I find most interesting at UJA, this struggle to unite, even if loosely, a spectrum of political and moral beliefs that stretch across spectrum. This disparity challenges Israel everyday. Ironically the most fervent radicalized communities of Israel are the Orthodox who unitl the victory in The 6 day War considered the secular Zionist movement which culminated in the creation of the state of Israel to be an affront to Yahweh.
Of course, you're right. I threw out the 35 million number based on the population of the world being 3.5 billion--which it was. When I was in high school! I still kind of think the population of the US is 200 million, when it is in fact 295,734,134. I also still tend to think the President is paid $100,000 a year; it's up to 400K now! This is creeping old-fogeyism, I'm afraid.
There's a handy world pop counter here (current and past): http://www.ibiblio.org/lunarbin/worldpop
About three years ago, I read a fascinating book on a more local level "Boychiks In The Hood" by Robert Eisenberg. It focused a lot of the Hasidim (msp?) in Williamsburg and Boro Park--the Satmars and the Belzers, and on the Lubavitchers in L.A....
61 from Asia
21 from China
17 from India
13 from Africa
12 from Europe
5 from the U.S.
1 from Australia and New Zealand
That's 130 people in a village of 100.
Dear Anon: That's 130 because of the China and India overlap I think.
Hey, Jack, double check your math, why don't ya and while you're at it, account for no beaners, cheese or towel heads.
Hey, I didn't come up with these, Nobodaddy from Spokentucky. Go complain to the guys who wrote this. Whaddyawant? Do I have to pull this article to have peace?
I don't know what happened or where the populations mentioned fit in. Well, you can bet the Canadians just got slipped, to their continuing anger, into the US totals, as the honorary 51st state. The Latin Americans--wow I don't know. As for the folks of Arabic extraction...it looks like they were counted in Africa and Asia?
Spokentucky sounds like my kind of place! You have any sisters?? I get that family has first dibs!
To Nobodaddy
Why art thou silent & invisible
Father of jealousy
Why dost thou hide thyself in clouds
From every searching Eye
Why darkness & obscurity
In all thy words & laws
That none dare eat the fruit but from
The wily serpents jaws
Or is it because Secresy
gains females loud applause
- Bill Blake
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