10/40 Window
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The 10/40 Window refers to the Eastern Hemisphere (including Africa, Europe, and Asia) between 10 and 40 degrees north of the Equator. It is a simple box encompassing Saharan and Northern Africa, as well as almost all major Asian nations other than Russia. Roughly two-thirds of the world population lives in the 10/40 Window. The term was coined by Christian missionary strategist Luis Bush in 1990 to refer to this general region of the world with greatest human suffering combined with least exposure to Christianity. The 10/40 Window is populated by peoples who are predominantly Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Animist, Jewish and Atheist. Many nations in the 10/40 Window are openly hostile to evangelization and Christianity.
The 10/40 Window concept highlights this lack of Christian influence, together with several other socioeconomic factors. The net effect: a simple message contrasting the major needs and few resources devoted to this part of the world.
Some object to the obvious anomalies generated by such a simplistic generalization. For example, the Window includes South Korea, Philippines and Hong Kong, all of which are strong Christian nations. Meanwhile, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan are a few of the major non-Christian nations outside the Window. Clearly, the 10/40 Window is simply a generalization that brings helpful focus to a significant part of the world.
The original 1990 GIS 10/40 Window analysis showed that the nations of the 10/40 Window represent:
- Over 80% of the poorest of the world's poor (Per capita GDP less than US$500 per year)
- Over 80% of those with lowest quality of life (life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy)
- By far the least Christian resource investment.
The most telling research conclusion: the 10/40 Window includes close to 100% of those who are both most-poor and have least-access to Christian resources.
[edit] Non-Christians in the 10/40 Window by Religion
- 865 million Muslims
- 550 million Hindus
- 150 million Chinese (officially Atheist)
- 275 million Buddhists
- 6 million Jews
[edit] Nations in the 10/40 Window
The 10/40 Window encompasses Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Western Sahara, and Yemen. These are all eastern hemisphere nations with at least 50 percent of their land mass falling within 10 to 40 degrees latitude.
[edit] External links
- The 10/40 Window, Getting to the Core of the Core. The original paper.
- Window of Opportunity
- 10/40 Window Statistics
- 10/40 Window Maps Updated data from the original GIS analysis
