The Watchtower

The Watchtower is a magazine published twice a month by Jehovah's Witnesses. It has 32 pages and is published in 148 languages. The magazine usually includes topics such as Bible prophecy, Christian conduct and morals, as well as the history of religion and the Bible.

Each issue contains two or three study articles that are discussed at congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the world. Simultaneous printing in the vast majority of languages in which The Watchtower is published makes it possible for virtually all of the Jehovah's Witness communities throughout the earth to discuss the same information each week.

With an average printing of twenty-five million copies, The Watchtower is thought to be the most widely circulated religious magazine in the world.

Over the years, Jehovah's Witnesses have added a variety of editions of the magazine, with a view to making it available to a wider public. In 1976, The Watchtower became available in Grade II English Braille. In 1988, it began to be produced on audiocassette for the benefit of the visually impaired as well as others who wished to listen to it. In 2003, a videocassette edition in American Sign language was produced, and this was extended to DVD in 2004. Additionally, 2004 saw the release of The Watchtower on compact disk (MP3 format).

The Watchtower, along with its companion magazine Awake, are distributed free of charge in the United States and other countries where taxation would be an issue if it were sold, although voluntary donations are accepted to support the magazines' further distribution.

In other countries, The Watchtower is sold, with "pioneers" paying a lower price for the magazines, which are then resold for profit.