Since the first World Watch List in 1983, North Korea has been number one 23 times – that’s almost 70% of the time. The persecution of our North Korean family has worsened in the last year following a rise in reported incidents of violence. It coincides with stricter regulations announced by the North Korean authorities in early 2024.
Last year, 4,476 believers worldwide were killed for their faith. Most were from Nigeria, with 3,100, which is fewer than 2023. However, other countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen rising numbers of Christian deaths, including Burkina Faso, where 201 believers lost their lives – that’s more than a fivefold increase on 2023.
There’s also been a rise in violence elsewhere in the world, including Central Asia, where churches and believers are being increasingly targeted as authoritarian governments seek to further repress religious freedom. No country rose further in this year’s rankings than Kyrgyzstan, jumping 14 places to 47.
The last year has seen at least 209,771 Christians forced from their homes to go into hiding or exile because of the faith, almost half of whom are from Nigeria – and that’s despite around half of all Nigerians being Christian. It reinforces the escalating dangers facing believers across sub-Saharan Africa because of rising extremism.
In 2023, almost all of Algeria’s Protestant churches had been ordered to close. Last year, all remaining churches were closed or forced to stop regular services. Like other countries, such as Afghanistan and China, believers are increasingly having to be creative and courageous in how they gather – if at all.
Mexico is number 31 – the highest it’s been since 2005 and the only country in Latin America to rise in the latest rankings. Organised crime is rampant in many areas, and churches and believers who seek to counter it make themselves targets. There has been an increase in the number of believers killed and abducted.
The most violent region is sub-Saharan Africa, where weak government and political tensions allow Islamic extremism to flourish. Persecution is rising in countries such as Burkina Faso (20) and Mali (14), a well as Chad (49), which enters the top 50 for the first time. Open Doors’ ongoing Arise Africa campaign is a call to the church and the world to respond to this crisis.
Violence grows in situations of anarchy and internal conflict. Trapped in the chaos of civil war, Christians in Yemen (3), Sudan (5) and Myanmar (13) are easy targets.
But strong, authoritarian regimes are also places of officially sanctioned violence. In both Kyrgyzstan (47) – back in the top 50 for the first time since 2013 – and Kazakhstan (up nine places to 38), churches and believers have been attacked by police and security services, or through locally orchestrated mobs.
The persecuted church is, increasingly, a displaced church, exiled to refugee or IDP (internally displaced people) camps. Sudan (5) is facing the largest displacement crisis in the world: in a country of 49 million people, the number of IDPs by mid-2024 had surpassed 7.7 million. For already vulnerable Christians, the loss of home and community makes them even more of an easy target. In Nigeria (7), radicalised Islamic Fulani militants continue to drive Christian communities from their lands. Conflict in the Manipur region in India (11) forced tens of thousands of Christians to flee for their lives – often with little more than the clothes on their back.
More and more Christians are having to worship undercover. In Afghanistan (10), it is effectively impossible to publicly express your faith. In Algeria (19), all Protestant churches have been forced to close, and the number of Christians awaiting trial and sentencing is at an all-time high. In China (15), the era of relative tolerance is over. Unregistered churches are now illegal. Ideological pressure and official indoctrination are used to direct church teaching. Religious education for children is banned. Many congregations are taking their fellowships underground, into isolated home groups. Meanwhile, in Libya (4), the small Christian community is extremely careful to avoid a repeat of the March 2023 crackdown that swept up numerous Christians for arrest.
Despite most of the country’s population being Christian, many believers in Mexico (31) have faced heightened levels of violence. In many parts, the presence of criminal groups is growing, and Christians who bravely speak out against their activities are deemed a threat. The number of abductions, attacks on Christian properties and even deaths have risen in the past year. This deeply troubling trend coincides with what was a more violent year for Mexico more broadly, following deadly protests in the run-up to the general election in the summer.
During the World Watch List recording period, the main problem in Syria (18) was crime and corruption, which continued to drive Christian emigration. As this year’s list was going to print, the Assad regime fell to rebel forces, leaving Christians in the church’s ancient heartlands facing renewed anxiety and threat.
Despite destruction and displacement, tyranny and terror, the church is active and alive. Even in North Korea (1), the worst of all countries to be a Christian, some 400,000 believers still witness to the life and light of Jesus. As Lydia*, a secret Open Doors fieldworker who supports North Korean believers outside the country says, “Despite persecution, nothing and no one can stop the church from growing.”
*Name changed for security reasons
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