The World, the Directory, and AA

ON the next two pages is a map of the world with an up-to-date accounting of AA's membership, groups, and loners. The figures are most apt to be accurate where they are smallest. The counting seems to be a little more reliable where AA is new, and sober drunks are a stand-out novelty. When the figures get larger, as for the United States and Canada, we must humbly remind you that no one is suggesting that the count has the accuracy of a government census. Groups report as best they can; the total is tallied. Statisticians review the result; our total membership of more than 350,000 is their conservative projection. AA will never be known in history for its ability to perform a painstaking nose-count.