Statistics

According to the Children of God, there were 130 communes or "colonies" in 15 countries in 1972. In 1993, 7,000 of the 10,000 members were under 18 years of age. Recent statistics by The Family International puts full-time and fellow members at just over 11,200 in over 100 countries (around 4,000 adult full-time members and 4,000 children). Some estimates have placed the total number of people that have passed through the group at 35,000. In the year 2000 the group claimed this number to be only 26,000 ("Stay on the Wall!", CM/FM#3303 June 2000).

Sociologists have observed that many organizations exaggerate their numbers. This is especially true of new religious movements (or any new movement) with respect to the number of followers. The Family International has consistently claimed many thousands of followers and their "official" count has remained around 10,000 for years (± 2,000). However, this number includes children and babies as "followers", and the number of members under the age of 15 is close to those over this age.

The Family International has significantly downplayed the numbers of their defectors. This is especially true of the second generation.