The number of Christians exposed to persecution and at risk of suffering violence worldwide rose by 8 million people during 2025 to reach 388 million.
201 million are women or girls while 110 million are minors under the age of 15.
“Unfortunately, this is once again a record year,” noted Cristian Nani, Director of Open Doors, which recently published its annual World Watch List 2026 on the persecution of Christians across the planet.
After a decline, the number of killings of Christians has risen again, increasing from 4,476 to 4,849. That’s 13 every day.
That’s the official statistic. The real figure could be in the tens of thousands.
15 NATIONS HAVE AN “EXTREME” LEVEL OF ANTI-CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION
Nigeria is confirmed as the epicentre of the violence, with 3,490 victims — about 70% of the global total of people killed.
The number of countries with a level of anti-Christian persecution that can be described as “extreme” has risen from 13 to 15.
They are in order: North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Mali
NORTH KOREA
If anyone is discovered to be a Christian in North Korea, the consequences are extreme: imprisonment in one of the country’s notorious labour camps with little hope of release, or immediate execution.
The same fate often awaits family members.
Christianity has no place in North Korea, a country where homage must be directed towards the Kim regime alone.
The slightest hint of worshipping Jesus can have devastating consequences.
Remarkably, believers do gather, but in utmost secrecy and at enormous risk.
SOMALIA
Christians in Somalia live in one of the harshest environments in the world.
It is a place where openly following Jesus is impossible.
It is illegal to convert from Islam to Christianity forcing Christians to practise their faith in secret and isolation.
They have no legal protection.
YEMEN
The dangers facing Christians in Yemen continue to escalate in an unrelenting tide of conflict, extremism, and economic collapse.
The indigenous church consists mainly of converts from Islam who must practice their faith in absolute secrecy.
Discovery can be deadly as apostasy is legally punishable by death.
Believers are punished in other ways through divorce and separation from their children.
They have no legal recourse.
SUDAN
Christians in Sudan are going through a severe, growing crisis and population displacement.
This stems from the 2021 military takeover and the brutal civil war that started in 2023.
The government reinstated oppressive figures, brought back cruel “morality policies”, and is using old Islamic laws to justify forcing people to convert or endure physical punishment.
This has completely undone the advances in religious freedom made after the oppressive al-Bashir regime was overthrown in 2021.
ERITREA
Eritrea is one of the world’s most difficult places to be a follower of Jesus.
The government recognises only four religious groups and excludes most Evangelical and Pentecostal groups, treating them as illegal.
Christians who worship outside state-sanctioned churches face intense surveillance, violent police raids, and indefinite imprisonment, often in horrendous conditions.
SYRIA
Syria has moved up from Number 18 on the Watch List to Number 6 representing a leap from a “high” to an “extreme” level.
Mr. Nani told Vatican News that Christians in Syria are in danger because the new political power is still partly “fragmented,” as is highlighted by recent clashes between government forces and a Kurdish-led militia in Aleppo.
“Based on our data, only 300,000 Christians remain in Syria — hundreds of thousands fewer than ten years ago,” he noted.
SUB-SAHARA AFRICA
The director of Open Doors pointed to sub-Saharan Africa as the “special observation” area of the Watch List 2026.
That’s due in particular to the presence of “fragile governments” that leave Christians exposed to violence.
“With one eighth of the world’s Christians, the centre of gravity of their faith has shifted to Africa, but it is there that it is primarily under attack,” said Mr. Nani.
Aside from Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria and Mali in the Watch List’s top 15, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, the Central African Republic, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Mozambique, Egypt, the Comoros Islands and Chad make up the top 50 — with African nations comprising nearly 40% of the total.
OPENING THE GATE FOR ISLAMIC TERROR
Open Doors reports all of this creates a vacuum that draws in opportunists, mainly armed Islamic extremists, who operate with impunity.
The breakdown of state authority has created lawless zones where crime and jihadist violence often go hand-in-hand.
Criminals prey on Christians, providing Islamic extremist groups with funds to go towards expanding their violent campaigns.
Only three countries were awarded the maximum score for violence. All of them are across Africa’s Sahel region: Sudan, Nigeria, and Mali.
THE CHURCH DRIVEN INTO ISOLATION
In several countries, the Church is being driven into isolation by pressures across all areas of Christian life.
In Algeria, for example, a decrease in violence has been countered by an increase in persecution in other spheres, including community life and national life (the interaction between Christians and the nation they live in).
More recently, state pressure on Protestant Christians has intensified.
In Mauritania, government hostility towards converts from Islam is high.
Tunisian Christians face increased government surveillance, false arrests, and house raids.
A continent away, the trend toward Christian isolation is playing out in China, though through vastly different means.
LATIN AMERICA
In Mexico and Colombia, there’s growing recognition — from media, civil society, and some state actors — of the specific risks faced by religious leaders in areas affected by organised crime and armed groups.
This has elevated the visibility of Christian vulnerability among the public.
In Nicaragua and Cuba — where pressure primarily comes from state authorities — international monitoring of violations of religious freedom, and advocacy for affected churches and religious leaders has clearly intensified, keeping these concerns on the global agenda.
ON A POSITIVE NOTE
A year ago, the violence score in Bangladesh was nearing the maximum. This year, it has dropped by 20%.
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