Well, I imagine that most of the stake growth and such is really the result of:
1: Playing around with already existing stakes and redesigning boundaries and membership so that an overall loss appears to be an overall gain; And 2: The likelihood that the African and other foreign membership numbers include a high percentage of members who are instantly inactive, desperate for anything that they believe might protect them or get them out of misery, and/or know nothing real about the organization.
On the other hand, I suspect that the things listed as discouraging are pretty much the real trend that will be seen around the world, in time. At least, I hope so.