
Two organizations tracking global Christian persecution recently released their annual findings, highlighting issues around the world.
By Aaron Earls
While Christianity continues to grow globally, many followers of Jesus face severe persecution for their faith.
Open Doors and Global Christian Relief (GCR), two organizations tracking global Christian persecution, recently released their annual findings highlighting significant issues around the world.
Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List ranks the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution. Topping the list are 13 nations where persecution levels are classified as “extreme.” The other nations on the list have “very high levels of persecution.”
Researchers with the organization said the number of Christians subjected to violence worldwide increased last year. Among the 50 countries on the list, 29 reported an increase in violence.
1. North Korea
North Korea remains the highest-ranked nation for four of the past five years, with a persecution score of 98. “If your Christian faith is discovered in North Korea, you could be killed on the spot,” Open Doors reports. “If you aren’t killed, you will be deported to a labor camp and treated as a political criminal.”
Last year, the communist dictatorship announced even stricter regulations. According to official reports, government authorities “publicly executed about 30 middle school students for watching a Korean drama on a USB drive.”
North Korea ranks fifth in arrests, according to GCR’s Red List. But the organization noted that information on arrests and sentences is scarce. More than 200 arrests have been confirmed. But “the true number is likely far higher due to the hermit state’s secrecy and lack of verification.”
2. Somalia
Open Door places Somalia second with a score of 94. An Islamist militant group is at war with the government and controls large portions of the country, frequently killing Christians in those areas. “The dangers have increased over the years, as the militants have increasingly focused on finding and eliminating Christian leaders,” Open Doors says.
Somalia is the highest-scoring African nation on the list. While most of the nations engaging in extreme persecution are Asian, five of the top seven are African. The GCR report referred to Africa as “the deadliest region for believers.” Yet, Christianity continues to grow faster in Africa and Asia than in any other region in the world.
3. Yemen
Yemen is third on Open Door’s ranking of worst nations for Christians, with a score of 94. Government oppression, as well as familial and Islamic persecution, make this a difficult place for believers.
“I cannot carry the Bible with me,” says one Christian in Yemen who attempts to travel to homes to share the gospel but saw a Christian friend be shot in the street. “They can search me at any checkpoint on the way, so I try to memorize as much as I can before my visits.”
Extreme persecution
The rest of the nations where believers are suffering under extreme persecution also have scores above 80 and include Libya (91), Sudan (90), Eritrea (89), Nigeria (88), Pakistan (87), Iran (86), Afghanistan (85), India (84), Saudia Arabia (81), and Myanmar (81).
Among these, Nigeria stands out with more than 100 million Christians, representing the largest religious group in the country. Additionally, Eritrea is a majority Islamic nation, but 44% of the population is Christian.
Christianity throughout the world
Even some nations with significant Christian majorities make Open Door’s persecution list because of government oppression or threats from other groups, like militant Islamic groups or organized crime. Cuba (ranked 26), Central African Republic (27), Nicaragua (30), Mexico (31), Ethiopia (33), Democratic Republic of Congo (35), Mozambique (37), Cameroon (43), and Colombia (46) are all majority Christian countries where believers endure very high levels of persecution.
Other nations of note include China, ranked 15. Open Doors estimates more than 96 million covert believers exist in the communist nation. North Korea and China are the only two nations with significant persecution of Christians that exist within a majority agnostic country.
Besides the 10 nations where Christianity is the main religion and two that are agnostic, 33 are Islamic, four are majority Buddhist, and India is the only mostly Hindu nation among the 50 worst nations for persecution of Christians.
Sources of persecution
As far as the source of the persecution, most nations have a mix of several factors. But Islamic oppression is the primary source in 33 of the top 50 countries. Other sources include dictatorial paranoia among eight nations, four are traced to communism, two to organized crime, and two to religious nationalism. Ethiopia is the only nation on the list where most of the persecution comes from other Christians, the established Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
On GCR’s Red List that highlights specific attacks of persecution, Nigeria is identified as the deadliest nation for Christians, as it tops the list of most killings along with abductions and assaults. China has arrested more Christians than any other nation. India has seen the most attacks on Christian buildings and properties, as well as the second most displacements of Christians. Azerbaijan tops that ranking.
One nation not among Open Door’s top 50 that qualified for GCR’s rankings is Russia. It ranked fifth in killings, most of those occurring in a Muslim-majority area, and fourth in arrests, with the government targeting evangelical Christians.
For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.
