The dangers facing Christians in North Korea have not abated – and that’s why it’s still number one on the World Watch List. Amidst an ongoing humanitarian crisis, the Kim regime continues to strengthen the country’s self-reliance and its strategic positioning on the world stage. For North Korea’s secret believers, following Jesus openly remains impossible.
Open Doors research shows that the number of Christians worldwide killed for their faith increased by eight per cent to 4,849. Of these, 72% were from Nigeria – that’s more than the rest of the world combined. Other countries in sub-Saharan Africa that recorded at least 100 faith-related killings include Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
Syria has jumped to sixth. It’s the biggest riser in this year’s list and now a place of extreme persecution for many of the country’s tiny minority of believers. This is largely down to a sharp rise in the number of Christians killed and churches attacked since the fall of the Assad regime, notably the suicide bomb at Saint Elias Church, Damascus, in June that killed 22 people.
Fourteen countries in the top 50 of the World Watch List are in sub-Saharan Africa, and four of these are in the top 10 (Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Nigeria). A key driver is weak governance – for example, five of the 14 countries have experienced government overthrows in the past five years. This enables militancy and corruption to flourish, with believers often disproportionately targeted. One in eight Christians globally live in these 14 countries.
China reached its highest ever score on the World Watch List, largely due to the implementation in September 2025 of ‘Regulations on the Online Behaviour of Religious Clergy’. It comprises of 18 rules to ‘actively guide the religion’s alignment with society’. There is a ban on youth outreach, fundraising and ‘healing’ activities. Livestreams of sermons are only permitted if the church has been state-approved, which means preaching is heavily censored.
Among the good news from the latest list is a 20% drop in reported incidents of violence in Bangladesh. Since the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasana in August 2024, a period of relative calm has emerged under the interim leadership of Muhammad Yunus, an advocate of religious freedom. However, with elections scheduled for early this year, this will be tested, with concerns that it could lead to greater persecution of religious minorities.
The persecution facing Syria’s (#6) embattled and dwindling Christian minority has heightened over the past year, with the country recording the largest single-year increase in score on the World Watch List since 2014.
This dramatic rise is largely attributed to a surge in violence. During the reporting period, at least 27 believers were reported to be killed for their faith, but the true number is likely to be higher. In the previous 12 months, the number was zero. Attacks on churches and forced closure of Christian schools have also increased.
The fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 was a seismic moment in Syria’s history. Among Christians, there was cautious hope that it would represent a turning point after more than a decade of persecution and conflict. However, under the rule of the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), despite some economic improvement, political power remains fragmented and widespread disorder is playing into the hands of militants. Meanwhile, pressure from wider society to conform to Islamic ideals and practices has grown.
It’s deeply added to the fears and unease of our family in Syria. Many have stopped attending church, whilst churches have had to curtail their activities. There are believed to be 300,000 Christians in Syria today – hundreds of thousands fewer than ten years ago. For the remnant, the hope of better days feels as fragile as ever.
The intensifying persecution facing Christians in sub-Saharan Africa has become a theme of the World Watch List over recent years and this year is no different, with weak governance, institutional failure and lawless regions among the key factors exposing believers to rising hostility.
Five of the 14 countries on the World Watch List that are in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced coups in the past five years – that’s Niger (#26), Mali (#15), Burkina Faso (#16), Central African Republic (CAR) (#22) and Sudan (#4). Meanwhile, armed conflicts plague several countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (#29) and Mozambique (#39), as well as Sudan (#4), up one place on the World Watch List as Christians are targeted by both sides of its civil war.
One of the effects of regional instability is the rising influence of Islamist groups, with Christians often disproportionately targeted. In Mozambique (#39), five Christians were beheaded by a group with links to so-called Islamic State (IS), and 38 people were killed during a prayer vigil in one of several devastating attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in eastern DRC (#29). In Nigeria (#7), the epicentre of deadly violence against Christians in the region, 258 were killed when Fulani militants attacked a Christian farming community in Benue State in June.
In recent months, the world has begun to talk more about the suffering of Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria. It’s a very welcome development but, as the latest World Watch List report shows, the need is enormous – and that’s why Open Doors’ Arise Africa campaign remains crucial in raising awareness, support and prayer, including through a petition aimed at raising one million signatures.
You might be familiar with the smash and squeeze of persecution. The former reflects the overt targeting of Christians, such as violence, whilst the latter is a more subtle approach aimed at suffocating believers through tactics including surveillance and tight regulations.
Algeria (#20) is one country where the squeeze of persecution has been particularly pronounced in recent years. Since 2021, opposition has jumped markedly, largely because of an increase in pressure by the authorities. In December 2024, the Algerian government shut down a Christian Facebook group with more than 50,000 followers. They’ve also kept previously closed churches shut and ordered others to cease activities. It’s now believed that 75% of Christians in Algeria no longer have a place to gather for worship, leaving many isolated in their faith.
It’s a similar story elsewhere, including in nearby Tunisia (#31), where the country’s authoritarian leadership has heightened its surveillance of Christians. For those already forced to keep their faith secret because of pressure from family and their community, this troubling trend has only added to their isolation.
And in China (#17), a renewed crackdown on church activities, including the arrest of believers, followed the introduction of new regulations governing online religious activity in September 2025. The pressure to align with Communist ideology is ramping up, further suffocating believers’ freedoms and pushing them into the shadows.
Alongside the good news from Bangladesh (#33), where there has been a reduction in reported attacks on Christians, there are other countries where there have been positive developments.
In Mexico (#30) and Colombia (#47), there is 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. A spotlight is also being shone on the authorities’ approach to religious freedom in Cuba (#24) and Nicaragua (#32), through the work of international monitoring groups and advocates speaking up on behalf of affected churches and leaders.
And in a wonderful answer to prayer from Malaysia (#51), truth and justice prevailed with Susanna Koh winning her court case against the state over the disappearance of her husband, Pastor Raymond Koh, in February 2017.
These trends are a reminder that the drivers behind the persecution of brothers and sisters are complex and multifaceted. But perhaps the most potent and powerful reason for persecution is that, in all these countries, the church is still present and alive. In many places, it’s even growing!
Despite the best efforts of dictators, extremists, secret policemen and party officials, Christians continue to show remarkable resilience and creativity in how they witness to Jesus. Churches still meet, prayers are prayed, Scripture is shared and the gospel is still proclaimed. The enemies of Christianity will always try to make life impossible for Christians. But it won’t work. Because ours is an impossible faith. And nothing is impossible with God.
“If you could see what God is doing in my country, you would never have any doubts again. The Holy Spirit is at work, thanks to your prayers.” – a North Korean escapee
Your support helps persecuted Christians continue to courageously follow Jesus. Together, we can reach those where persecution hits hardest.
