Christian support group Open Doors has released its annual report. world watch list A ranking of the world's most dangerous places to practice the Christian faith, released on Wednesday, found that 380 million Christians worldwide face severe persecution.
Open Doors defines persecution of Christians as “any act of hostility against individuals or communities motivated by identification with Jesus Christ,” especially in countries where Islamist terrorism is prevalent or under communist regimes. is widespread in countries where it operates. Islamic extremism is the driving force behind persecution in eight of the top 10 countries on the global watch list, and two others, North Korea and Eritrea, are under the yoke of communist regimes.
380 million Christians face persecution in many cases, including deadly attacks, of which 310 million are in the top 10 countries on the list. Half of these countries are in Africa and three in the Middle East. Afghanistan is located in South Asia. North Korea is an outlier in the Far East region, but it borders longtime patron China, the 15th country on the list.
The number of Christians facing violence, displacement, arrest, sexual violence, and other persecution around the world has steadily increased throughout the 2020s. There are 20 million more Christians in this year's count than the total number Open Door identified in the 2022 survey. Open Doors estimated that 260 million Christians faced “high levels of persecution” in 2020.
The 2025 edition of the World Watch List highlights events in 2024, including a rapid increase in Islamic extremist terrorism in Africa's Sahel region, China's growing influence in several major repressing countries, and an alcoholic's seizure of power in Syria. is being featured. -Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
North Korea has been named the world's most dangerous country for Christians by Open Door List for the 23rd time since the organization's inception. publication While this list has claimed the top title in most years over the past decade, the notable exception is the 2022 list, which covers the events of 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. The country is run by a totalitarian communist regime, and its citizens are forced to worship the ruling Kim family as gods.
“If your Christian faith is discovered in North Korea, you will be immediately executed or deported to a horrific labor camp where few will survive,” Open Doors detailed. “The Kim regime relies on tight control over people's behavior and beliefs. In early 2024, it announced that it would tighten regulations against outside influence. Last year, about 30 young people lost their lives just by watching Korean dramas. It is reported that he was executed.
Despite this, Open Doors estimates that as many as 400,000 people continue to worship Jesus in North Korea.
Africa has emerged as a major focus in the fight against religious intolerance.
“According to Open Doors research, more than 90% of Christians killed for their faith last year were in sub-Saharan Africa, with 3,100 believers killed in Nigeria alone,” the group said, pointing out that He added that the country faces the most severe persecution and is also home to many Christians.
“Nigeria, for example, has the largest church auditorium in the world. But that's about the South,” Open Doors said. “Christians are a minority in the northern (and increasingly central) regions, where Islamic extremists like Boko Haram and Fulani extremists have the potential to wreak havoc.”
Almost half of Nigeria's population, about 46 percent, are considered Christians.
Persecution of Christians is also on the rise in the Sahel region, where several governments have been toppled in sudden military coups under pressure from Islamist terrorists. Chad was placed on the global watch list for the first time this year, and countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali are at the center of jihadist attacks against Christians.
In several Islamic countries on the persecution list, including Somalia in second place, persecution takes the form of not only state repression and terrorist violence, but also violence and isolation by Muslim families against Christian converts. It is being
“Even at home, suspicion of having come to faith in Christ can lead to house arrest, forced marriage, or threats to one's life from family members,” Open Doors said of Somalia.
The African outlier is Eritrea, where communism, not Islam, is responsible for the top-down repression of Christianity. In 2024, Open Doors noted that “government security forces raided homes and sent hundreds of Christians to notoriously inhumane prisons.”
“Eritrea is often referred to as the 'North Korea of Africa'. Telephone and internet use are heavily monitored, and Christians are the ones who suffer the most,” he added.
Eritrea is run by a one-party Marxist dictatorship led by the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) party. The country is closely aligned with communist China, which has helped expand repression techniques and surveillance mechanisms to persecute Christians.
China itself ranked 15th on the list, slightly lower than other countries, due to the absence of Islamist violence and the presence of “official” Christian churches that only provide communist propaganda. Other notable countries on the list include India at No. 11, where Hindu nationalism fuels repression. 17 and 18 In Iraq and Syria, Turkish jihadist proxies are terrorizing Christians in Kurdish areas. In third place is Yemen, where the spread of Houthi terrorism has made it nearly impossible to practice the faith.
