Counting number of members from all factions together is something completely different than counting all potential server users . Not to mention that this number is variable and repeatable result doesn't mean that it's correct. Even history of logins into servers doesn't reflect true number of potential users without taking into account players who want to play, and there was no place for them in roster.
In first strat war for land on the map included war for number of slots with preferred ping. It was okay!
I think worth considering solution is more servers and server choice option in game menu. For example two servers for NA (East and West Coast) instead of one, second server for EU, and perhaps even AU for Frank