World Watch List 2023: Trends

At least 360 million Christians around the world experience high levels of persecution and discrimination. That’s an astonishing 1 in 7 of the global Christian population.

Persecution of Christians has reached the highest levels since the Open Doors World Watch List began nearly 30 years ago, affecting increasing numbers of believers around the world. This overview of persecution trends will help give you a better understanding of the situation, and equip you to pray for your brothers and sisters following Jesus no matter the cost.

Extremism and violence continue to rise
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has been in headlines around the world, but they are far from the only violent extremists targeting Christians and other religious minorities. Their victory has bolstered Islamic militants in neighbouring Pakistan, and may well embolden jihadist groups in other regions. It’s the main reason that Niger has jumped 21 places, for example, re-entering the World Watch List Top 50 after a series of attacks by Islamic militants. The Taliban’s success encourages extremists around the world.

Violence in sub-Saharan Africa
Alongside Niger’s believers, Christians across sub-Saharan Africa face extreme and increasing violence from Islamic militants. This is particularly severe in Nigeria, where more Christians are killed for their faith than in the rest of the world combined, but Christians also face extreme violence in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Mali, Cameroon and Burkina Faso.

Even countries that fall outside the Open Doors World Watch List Top 50 – like South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda – see terrible violence against Christians. Their overall persecution scores are lower because pressure in public and private life is much less severe, compared to the violence faced.

The global church is increasingly a refugee church
…and this makes it even more vulnerable. More than 84 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced and are living as refugees in another country or displaced within their own country, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Many of these are Christians fleeing persecution, with thousands more added to their number in 2021.

Christians are among those fleeing for their lives in Afghanistan, while in countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, churches and communities have been attacked. Even where there is no active conflict, Christian refugees from places like Iran leave because they have simply had enough of the daily struggle against discrimination.

All they want is somewhere to be free and safe. Sadly, life on the move or in refugee camps is even more fragile, and exposes them to discrimination, extortion, human trafficking and sexual violence. A displaced church is a vulnerable church. Open Doors partners work with refugees in many countries, providing vital aid, shelter and fellowship.

Control tightens in China – and elsewhere
The Chinese Communist Party demands conformity – an ordered, controlled society where freedom of speech and belief is carefully restricted. In May 2021, new rules in China required religious leaders to ‘love the motherland, support the leadership of the Communist Party and the socialist system’ and forbade any acts believed to endanger national security or ‘undermine national unity’.

In practice, these poorly defined rules can be used to target and persecute believers who just want to worship. And the authorities in China use increasingly sophisticated techniques to keep watch on citizens. In some regions, surveillance cameras are now in all state-approved religious venues and some Bible apps are banned from online stores.

Other states have enthusiastically adopted this ‘made in China’ approach. In Cuba, church leaders who speak out for social justice have been detained, tortured and fined. In Nicaragua and Venezuela, authorities have closed churches and promoted smear campaigns against Christians. And it’s not just the remnants of the Communist world: countries as diverse as Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Malaysia have all increased restrictions. Where China leads, others follow.

View the World Watch List 2022

Turkey, Nepal, more…
The stories from the World Watch List can feel overwhelming – and it may seem like the situation is getting harder for Christians everywhere. While persecution is increasing overall, there are places where the reverse is true. In 2021, persecution became less severe in Turkey (which fell 17 places on the World Watch List) and Nepal (which fell 14 places). There were smaller drops in persecution score for Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Iran, India, Iraq, Vietnam, Egypt, Mauritania, Turkmenistan, Laos, Tunisia and Tajikistan. While these numbers aren’t enormous, each change for the better represents answers to prayer – and Christians who were able to follow Jesus a little more freely than the previous year.

Iran takes step towards religious freedom
Recently, Iran’s Supreme Court has decreed that belonging to a house church does not make Christians ‘enemies of the state’. A ruling declared that nine Christian converts serving five-year prison sentences for going to house churches should not have been charged with ‘acting against national security’, a charge that is often made against believers in court cases.

The Supreme Court’s ruling states that: “Merely preaching Christianity, and promoting the ‘Evangelical Zionist sect’, both of which apparently means propagating Christianity through family gatherings [house churches] is not a manifestation of gathering and collusion to disrupt the security of the country, whether internally or externally.”

While Iran’s legal system does not allow for a court precedent to be set, the judgement could influence cases against Persian-speaking Christians. It is certainly an encouraging move.

Iraq’s parliament recognise Christmas Day
In December 2020, Iraq’s parliament passed a bill making Christmas Day an annual national holiday in the majority-Muslim country. On Christmas Eve, Iraq’s President, Barham Salih, a Sunni Muslim, thanked parliament for passing the bill when he spoke while attending Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Baghdad. “[The government] must make serious efforts to enable Iraqi Christians to return, and to live a secure and dignified life in their homeland,” he said. “Their religious and cultural rights must be protected. As the country’s history shows, they are a major and important part of Iraq’s people.”

This is a really encouraging step towards Christians feeling safer and more valued in Iraq – which has fallen to 14 (from 11) on the World Watch List 2022.

? Worldwide
Above all, the World Watch List shows that the church is active and alive. Persecution is rising – but that only happens where the church is actively sharing the gospel and living it out.