The 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus in 2021
Latest report on Christian persecution finds 3 in 4 martyrs are in Nigeria, ranked among 10 worst persecutors for first time.
CT EDITORS|JANUARY 13, 2021 06:00 AMESPAÑOLPORTUGUÊSالعربيةFRANÇAIS简体中文한국어DEUTSCHINDONESIAN繁體中文РУССКИЙCATALÀGALEGO
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Editor’s note: The 2022 World Watch List has been released, and CT offers results and analysis in 10 languages.
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Every day, 13 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith.
Every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked.
And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted.
So reports the 2021 World Watch List (WWL), the latest annual accounting from Open Doors of the top 50 countries where Christians are the most persecuted for following Jesus.
“You might think the [list] is all about oppression. … But the [list] is really all about resilience,” stated David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, introducing the report released today.
“The numbers of God’s people who are suffering should mean the Church is dying—that Christians are keeping quiet, losing their faith, and turning away from one another,” he stated. “But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, in living color, we see the words of God recorded in the prophet Isaiah: ‘I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert’” (Isa. 43:19, ESV).
The listed nations contain 309 million Christians living in places with very high or extreme levels of persecution, up from 260 million in last year’s list.
Another 31 million could be added from the 24 nations that fall just outside the top 50—such as Cuba, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—for a ratio of 1 in 8 Christians worldwide facing persecution. This includes 1 in 6 believers in Africa and 2 out of 5 in Asia.
Last year, 45 nations scored high enough to register “very high” persecution levels on Open Doors’s 84-question matrix. This year, for the first time in 29 years of tracking, all 50 qualified—as did 4 more nations that fell just outside the cutoff.
Open Doors identified three main trends driving last year’s increase:“COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for religious persecution through relief discrimination, forced conversion, and as justification for increasing surveillance and censorship.”
“Extremist attacks opportunistically spread further throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, from Nigeria and Cameroon to Burkina Faso, Mali, and beyond.”
“Chinese censorship systems continue to propagate and spread to emerging surveillance states.”
Open Doors has monitored Christian persecution worldwide since 1992. North Korea has ranked No. 1 for 20 years, since 2002 when the watch list began.
The 2021 version tracks the time period from November 1, 2019 to October 31, 2020, and is compiled from grassroots reports by Open Doors workers in more than 60 countries.
“We are not just talking to religious leaders,” said Curry, at the livestream launch of this year’s list. “We’re hearing firsthand from those experiencing persecution, and we only report what we can document.”
The purpose of the annual WWL rankings—which have chronicled how North Korea now has competition as persecution gets worse and worse—is to guide prayers and to aim for more effective anger while showing persecuted believers that they are not forgotten.
EXPAND GRAPH
Where are Christians most persecuted today?
This year the top 10 worst persecutors are relatively unchanged. After North Korea is Afghanistan, followed by Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, and India.
Nigeria entered the top 10 for the first time, after maxing out Open Doors’s metric for violence. The nation, with Africa’s largest Christian population, ranks No. 9 overall but is second behind only Pakistan in terms of violence, and ranks No. 1 in the number of Christians killed for reasons related to their faith.
Sudan left the top 10 for the first time in six years, after abolishing the death penalty for apostasy and guaranteeing—on paper at least—freedom of religion in its new constitution after three decades of Islamic law. Yet it remains No. 13 on the list, as Open Doors researchers noted Christians from Muslim backgrounds still face attacks, ostracization, and discrimination from their families and communities, while Christian women face sexual violence.
(This switch among the top 10 echoes the decision of the US State Department in December to add Nigeria and remove Sudan from its Countries of Particular Concern list, which names and shames governments which have “engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”)
Where It’s Hardest to Follow Jesus:
1. North Korea
2. Afghanistan
3. Somalia
4. Libya
5. Pakistan
6. Eritrea
7. Yemen
8. Iran
9. Nigeria
10. India
India remains in the top 10 for the third year in a row because it “continues to see an increase in violence against religious minorities due to government-sanctioned Hindu extremism.”
Meanwhile, China joined the top 20 for the first time in a decade, due to “ongoing and increasing surveillance and censorship of Christians and other religious minorities.”
Of the top 50 nations:12 have “extreme” levels of persecution and 38 have “very high” levels. Another 4 nations outside the top 50 also qualify as “very high”: Cuba, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, and Niger.
19 are in Africa (6 in North Africa), 14 are in Asia, 10 are in the Middle East, 5 are in Central Asia, and 2 are in Latin America.
34 have Islam as a main religion, 4 have Buddhism, 2 have Hinduism, 1 has atheism, 1 has agnosticism—and 10 have Christianity.
The 2021 list added four new countries: Mexico (No. 37), Democratic Republic of Congo (No. 40), Mozambique (No. 45), and Comoros (No. 50).
Mozambique rose 21 spots (up from No. 66) “due to extremist Islamic violence in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.” The Democratic Republic of Congo rose 17 spots (up from No. 57) “mainly due to attacks on Christians by the Islamist group ADF.” Mexico rose 15 spots (up from No. 52) due to rising violence and discrimination against Christians from drug traffickers, gangs, and indigenous communities.
Four countries dropped off the list: Sri Lanka (formerly No. 30), Russia (formerly No. 46), United Arab Emirates (formerly No. 47), and Niger (formerly No. 50).
Where Christians Face the Most Violence:
1. Pakistan
2. Nigeria
3. Democratic Republic of Congo
4. Mozambique
5. Cameroon
6. Central African Republic
7. India
8. Mali
9. South Sudan
10. Ethiopia
Open Doors reporting period: November 2019 to October 2020
Other big changes in rankings: Colombia rose 11 spots from No. 41 to No. 30 due to violence from guerrillas, criminal groups, and indigenous communities and growing secular intolerance. Turkey rose 11 spots from No. 36 to No. 25 due to an increase in violence against Christians. And Bangladesh rose seven spots from No. 38 to No. 31 due to attacks on Christian converts among its Rohingya refugees.
However, other types of persecution can outweigh violence [as explained below]. For example, the Central African Republic fell 10 spots from No. 25 to No. 35, yet violence against Christians there remains extreme. And Kenya fell six spots from No. 43 to No. 49 though attacks there “increased significantly.”
Meanwhile, South Sudan ranks among the top 10 most violent nations tracked by Open Doors (at No. 9), yet doesn’t even make the top 50 watch list (at No. 69).
For the list’s 25th anniversary in 2017, Open Doors released an analysis of persecution trends over the past quarter-century. The top 10 nations over the 25-year span were: North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan, Maldives, Yemen, Sudan, Vietnam, and China.
Five countries appear on both the 25-year and 2021 top 10 lists—a concerning sign of the stability of persecution, noted Open Doors.
EXPAND GRAPH
How are Christians persecuted in these countries?
Open Doors tracks persecution across six categories—including both social and governmental pressure on individuals, families, and congregations—and has a special focus on women.
But when violence is isolated as a category, the top 10 persecutors shift dramatically—only Pakistan, Nigeria, and India remain. In fact, 20 nations are now deadlier for Christians than North Korea.
Worldwide registered martyrdoms rose to 4,761 in the 2021 report, up 60 percent from the 2,983 tallied the year before and surpassing the 4,305 deaths noted in the 2019 report. (Open Doors is known for favoring a more conservative estimate than other groups, who often tally martyrdoms at 100,000 a year.)
Where Christians Were Martyred Most:
1. Nigeria: 3,530
2. Democratic Republic of Congo: 460
3. Pakistan: 307
4. Mozambique: 100*
5. Cameroon: 53
6. Burkina Faso: 38
7. [name withheld]: 36
8. Central African Republic: 35
9. Mali: 33
10. [name withheld]: 20
*Estimate | Open Doors reporting period: November 2019 to October 2020
Nine in 10 Christians killed for their faith were in Africa, the rest in Asia. Nigeria led the world with 3,530 martyrs confirmed by Open Doors for its 2021 list.
During the launch event, Curry interviewed Afordia, a Nigerian Christian health care worker whose husband was executed by Boko Haram. After cutting off communication networks in the couple’s village, the extremists rounded up the men and asked each one if they were a Muslim or an infidel.
“‘No, I am not an infidel or a Muslim, I am a Christian,’ my husband told them,” she said. “Then he knelt down on the side of the road, and prayed.”
Abduction of Christians rose to 1,710, up 63 percent from the 1,052 tallied the year before, the first time the category was tracked by Open Doors. Nigeria tops the list, with 990.
Pakistan led the world in forced marriages, a new category tracked last year, with about 1,000 Christians married to non-Christians against their will. Asia accounted for 72 percent of the forced marriages tallied by Open Doors, with Africa—led by Nigeria—the remaining 28 percent.
Where Churches Were Attacked or Closed Most:
1. China: 3,088
2. Nigeria: 270
3. Angola: 100*
4. Democratic Republic of Congo: 100*
5. Ethiopia: 100*
6. Rwanda: 100*
7. Bangladesh: 90
8. India: 76
9. Pakistan: 68
10. Mexico: 61
*Estimate | Open Doors reporting period: November 2019 to October 2020
China arrested, jailed, or detained without charge 1,147 Christians for faith-related reasons, out of a total of 4,277 worldwide. This tally by Open Doors rose from 3,711 last year and 3,150 in 2019.
Meanwhile, attacks and forced closures of churches numbered 4,488 worldwide, with the vast majority recorded in China, followed by Nigeria. In last year’s report, the tally had skyrocketed from 1,847 to 9,488, with China accounting for 5,576 alone.
Open Doors cautioned that in several nations, the above violations are very difficult to document precisely. In these cases, round numbers are presented, always leaning towards conservative estimates.
Its research is certified and audited by the International Institute for Religious Freedom, a World Evangelical Alliance-backed network based in Germany.
Why are Christians persecuted in these countries?
The main motivation varies by country, and better understanding the differences can help Christians in other nations pray and advocate more effectively for their beleaguered brothers and sisters in Christ.
For example, though Afghanistan is the world’s No. 2 worst persecutor and an officially Muslim nation, the main motivation of persecution there—according to Open Doors research—is not Islamic extremism but ethnic antagonism, or what the report calls “clan oppression.”
Open Doors categorizes the primary sources of Christian persecution into eight groups:
Islamic oppression (29 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in more than half of the watchlist countries, including 5 of the 12 where Christian face “extreme” levels: Libya (No. 4), Pakistan (No. 5), Yemen (No. 7), Iran (No. 8), and Syria (No. 12). Most of the 29 are officially Muslim nations or have Muslim majorities; however, 7 actually have Christian majorities: Nigeria (No. 9), Central African Republic (No. 35), Ethiopia (No. 36), Democratic Republic of Congo (No. 40), Cameroon (No. 42), Mozambique (No. 45), and Kenya (No. 49).
Clan oppression (6 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Afghanistan (No. 2), Somalia (No. 3), Laos (No. 22), Qatar (No 29), Nepal (No. 34), and Oman (No. 44).
Dictatorial paranoia (5 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in five countries, mostly in Central Asia with Muslim majorities: Uzbekistan (No. 21), Turkmenistan (No. 23), Tajikistan (No. 33), Brunei (No. 39), and Kazakhstan (No. 41).
Religious nationalism (3 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in three Asian nations. Christians are primarily targeted by Hindu nationalists in India (No. 10), and by Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar (No. 18) and Bhutan (No. 43).
Communist and post-communist oppression (3 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in three countries, all in Asia: North Korea (No. 1), China (No. 17), and Vietnam (No. 19).
Christian denominational protectionism (2 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Eritrea (No. 6) and Ethiopia (No. 36).
Organized crime and corruption (2 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Colombia (No. 30) and Mexico (No. 37).
Secular intolerance (0 countries): Open Doors tracks this source of persecution faced by Christians, but it is not the main source in any of the 50 countries studied.
Prayers and Praises from the World’s Hardest Places to Be a Christian
The struggles and joys experienced by believers in 11 nations on Open Doors’ Christian persecution watchlist.
COMPILED BY MORGAN LEE
What are the main trends in the persecution of Christians?
Open Doors identified four new or continuing trends in why and how Christians were persecuted for their faith last year.
First, the pandemic offered a new avenue for persecution, as Open Doors documented discrimination against Christians receiving COVID-19 relief in Ethiopia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Vietnam, and the Middle East.
In India, where more than 100,000 Christians received aid from Open Doors partners, 80 percent reported being previously “dismissed from food distribution points. Some walked miles and hid their Christian identity to get food elsewhere,” noted researchers. Open Doors also collected reports of “Christians in rural areas being denied aid” in Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Central Asia, Malaysia, North Africa, Yemen, and Sudan. “Sometimes, this denial was at the hands of government officials, but more often, it was from village heads, committees or other local leaders.”
Open Doors noted:
“The global pandemic made persecution more obvious than ever—simply because so many people needed help. The clear discrimination and oppression suffered by Christians in 2020 must not be forgotten, even after the COVID-19 crisis fades into our collective memory.”
Public health lockdowns also increased the vulnerability of many believers. “Christians who abandon a majority faith to follow Christ know they risk losing all support from spouses, families, tribes, and communities, as well as local and national authorities,” noted researchers. “If they lose income due to COVID-19, they can’t fall back on customary networks for survival.” Meanwhile, church leaders from Egypt to Latin America told Open Doors that bans on church services caused donations to drop by about 40 percent, reducing their own income and the ability of their congregations to offer assistance to the wider community.
“We’ve been fighting a virus we cannot see with the naked eye,” said Curry. “Less known, but equally as viral, is the discrimination, isolation, and violence against Christians using COVID-19 as leverage and justification.”
The Open Doors report noted:
“Most converts from majority faiths said confinement due to a COVID-19 quarantine locked them in with those most antagonistic to their faith in Jesus. This especially affected minority women and children. For millions of Christians, work, education, and other outside interests provide a brief time of calm from regular persecution. So when the lockdowns occurred, it meant this respite was no longer available.”
“We have also received reports that the kidnapping, forcible conversion, and forced marriage of women and girls increased during the pandemic because of increased vulnerability. Additionally, places in Latin America that are vulnerable to drug gangs have become even more dangerous for Christians, since the pandemic has decreased the presence of official authorities who try to maintain order.”
Second, increasing video and digital surveillance of religious groups and improvements in and proliferation of surveillance technology was another key trend.
“China maintains it moved decisively to contain COVID-19 after the virus took flight in Wuhan,” noted Open Doors researchers. “But for its 97 million Christians, the cost in heavy restrictions—as surveillance reached into their homes, online and off-line interactions were tracked, and their faces were scanned into the Public Security database—is high.”
According to the report:
“Reports from counties in Henan and Jiangxi provinces say cameras with facial recognition software are now in all state-approved religious venues. Many of these cameras are reported to be installed next to standard CCTV cameras, but they link to the Public Security Bureau, meaning artificial intelligence can instantly connect with other government databases. The facial recognition software is linked to the ‘Social Credit System’ in China, which monitors the loyalty of citizens with regards to the tenets of communism.”
“China’s war on faith—a return to government as god—is back,” said Curry, who interviewed a Muslim Uighur about government “detainment centers” during the livestream. She warned against the export of these technologies.
Likewise in India, Open Doors researchers noted, “religious minorities fear contact-tracing apps will have ‘function creep’ and will be used to keep an eye on them and their movements.”
Third, the trend of “citizenship tied to faith” continued to spread. “In countries like India and Turkey, religious identity is increasingly tied to national identity—meaning, to be a ‘real’ Indian or a good Turk, you must be a Hindu or a Muslim, respectively,” noted researchers. “This is often implicitly—if not explicitly— encouraged by the ruling government.”
Open Doors noted:
“Amidst a surge of Hindu nationalism, Indian Christians are constantly pressured by strident propaganda. The message ‘to be Indian, you must be Hindu’ means mobs continue to attack and harass Christians, as well as Muslims. The belief that Christians are not truly Indian means widespread discrimination and persecution is often conducted with impunity. India also continues to block the flow of foreign funds to many Christian-run hospitals, schools and church organizations, all under the guise of protecting the Indian national identity.”
“In Turkey, the Turkish government has also assumed the role of nationalist protector of Islam. The Hagia Sophia was originally a cathedral and then a mosque, until modern Turkey decided it should be a museum. But in July 2020, the Turkish president persuaded a court to make it a mosque again, strengthening Turkish nationalism. … Turkish influence and nationalist aims extend beyond its borders, most notably in its backing of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia.”
Fourth, attacks by mostly Muslim extremists increased despite lockdowns to contain the coronavirus. “In much of the world, violence against Christians actually decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic,” noted researchers, but Christians in sub-Saharan Africa “faced up to 30 percent higher levels of violence than the previous year.”
Open Doors noted:
“Several hundred mostly Christian villages in Nigeria were either occupied or ransacked by armed Hausa-Fulani Muslim militant herdsmen; sometimes, fields and crops were destroyed as well. Boko Haram—and splinter group Islamic State of West Africa Province , an ISIS affiliate— continue to plague Nigeria and northern Cameroon.”
“In the Sahel region just south of the Sahara Desert, Islamic extremism is fuelled by injustice and poverty. These extremist groups exploit governmental failures, and armed jihadists spread propaganda, push recruitment and conduct regular attacks. This year, some groups pledged to wage war against ‘infidels’ like Christians—they claim ‘Allah punishes us all’ with the pandemic because of the infidels.”
“In Burkina Faso, until recently known for its inter-religious harmony between Muslims and Christians, 1 million people—1 in 20 of the population—are displaced (and millions more are hungry) as a result of drought and violence. Last year, Burkina Faso dramatically entered the [WWL] for the first time. This year, Islamic extremists continue to target churches (14 killed in one attack, 24 in another).”
NEWSUS Adds Nigeria to Top of Religious Persecution List, Removes Sudan and Uzbekistan
(UPDATED) State Department revises its Countries of Particular Concern on religious freedom.
JEREMY WEBER AND JAYSON CASPER
How does the WWL compare to other top reports on religious persecution?
Open Doors believes it is reasonable to call Christianity the world’s most severely persecuted religion. At the same time, it notes there is no comparable documentation for the world’s Muslim population.
Other assessments of religious freedom worldwide corroborate many of Open Doors’s findings. For example, the latest Pew Research Center analysis of governmental and societal hostilities toward religion found that Christians were harassed in 145 countries in 2018, more than any other religious group. Muslims were harassed in 139 countries, followed by Jews in 88 countries.
When examining only hostility by governments, Muslims were harassed in 126 countries and Christians in 124 countries, according to Pew. When examining only hostility within society, Christians were harassed in 104 countries and Muslims in 103 countries.
All nations of the world are monitored by Open Doors researchers and field staff, but in-depth attention is given to 100 nations and special focus on the 74 which record “high” levels of persecution (scores of more than 40 on Open Doors’s 100-point scale).
Sam Brownback, US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, commended the World Watch List.
“The day will come when people are able to practice their faith freely, and governments will protect this right,” he said during the livestream. “This day is getting nearer, and Open Doors helps with this effort.”
Correction: In its first release of the report, Open Doors miscategorized the primary source of persecution in Colombia (No. 30) as “clan oppression.” The correct primary source is “organized crime and corruption.”
Editor’s note: CT offers this report in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Russian, Arabic, Catalan, and Galician as part of CT Global’s 350+ translations.
Did we miss a language you’d like to read or share this in? Contact us and suggest a translation here.
NEWSThe 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2022
Latest report on Christian persecution finds Nigeria has 4 out of 5 martyrs worldwide, China has 3 out of 5 church attacks, and Afghanistan is now worse than North Korea.
JAYSON CASPER
SPEAKING OUT10 Best Practices for Improving Religious Freedom in Complicated Countries
Lessons we learned from helping Vietnam become the first country to be peaceably removed from the United States’ blacklist of the worst persecutors of Christians and other believers.
CHRIS SEIPLE
Image: Open Doors World Watch List
Map of the 50 countries where persecution of Christians is worst.
The 2021 World Watch List rankings:
Rank
Country
1
North Korea
2
Afghanistan
3
Somalia
4
Libya
5
Pakistan
6
Eritrea
7
Yemen
8
Iran
9
Nigeria
10
India
11
Iraq
12
Syria
13
Sudan
14
Saudi Arabia
15
Maldives
16
Egypt
17
China
18
Myanmar
19
Vietnam
20
Mauritania
21
Uzbekistan
22
Laos
23
Turkmenistan
24
Algeria
25
Turkey
26
Tunisia
27
Morocco
28
Mali
29
Qatar
30
Colombia
31
Bangladesh
32
Burkina Faso
33
Tajikistan
34
Nepal
35
Central African Republic
36
Ethiopia
37
Mexico
38
Jordan
39
Brunei
40
Congo DR (DRC)
41
Kazakhstan
42
Cameroon
43
Bhutan
44
Oman
45
Mozambique
46
Malaysia
47
Indonesia
48
Kuwait
49
Kenya
50
Comoros
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CT EditorsJanuary 13, 2021
Home > News & Reporting > Archives > 2022 > January
INTERNATIONAL
The 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2022
Latest report on Christian persecution finds Nigeria has 4 out of 5 martyrs worldwide, China has 3 out of 5 church attacks, and Afghanistan is now worse than North Korea.
JAYSON CASPER|JANUARY 19, 2022 07:10 AMESPAÑOLPORTUGUÊSالعربيةFRANÇAIS简体中文한국어ITALIANOINDONESIAN繁體中文РУССКИЙCATALÀ
Image: Illustration by Mallory Rentsch / Source Image: Benne Ochs / Getty Images
Open Doors has released its 2022 World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christian persecution is worst.
Athousand more Christians were killed for their faith last year than the year before.
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A thousand more Christians were detained.
Six hundred more churches were attacked or closed.
And Afghanistan is the new No. 1, according to the 2022 World Watch List (WWL), the latest annual accounting from Open Doors of the top 50 countries where it is most dangerous and difficult to be a Christian.
“This year’s findings indicate seismic changes in the persecution landscape,” said David Curry, president of Open Doors USA.
Since Open Doors began its tally in 1992, North Korea has led the ranking. But since Afghanistan’s takeover by the Taliban last August, Afghan believers have had to leave their country or relocate internally. Many lost everything they had, notes the report, while house churches were closed in their wake.
“Before the Taliban, it was not great, but it was good,” said one evacuated Afghan, requesting anonymity in hopes that he may one day return. “[Now] Christians are living in fear, in secret, totally underground.”
Open Doors is quick to note the displacement of North Korea to No. 2 does not reflect an improvement in religious freedom there. On the contrary, a new anti–reactionary thought law has resulted in an increase of Christian arrests and house church closures.
Overall, 360 million Christians live in nations with high levels of persecution or discrimination. That’s 1 in 7 Christians worldwide, including 1 in 5 believers in Africa, 2 in 5 in Asia, and 1 in 15 in Latin America.
Last year, for the first time in 29 years of tracking, all 50 nations scored high enough to register “very high” persecution levels on Open Doors’ 84-question matrix. This year, all 50 again qualified—as did 5 more nations that fell just outside the cutoff.
While Islamic extremism continues to create the most persecution, Open Doors noted that COVID-19 restrictions “have become an easy way to tighten control and surveillance over religious minorities and worship services” in China and other nations. Researchers also found that persecution is increasingly displacing Christians from their communities, with tens of thousands—especially from Myanmar—becoming refugees in other nations.
The purpose of the annual WWL rankings—which have chronicled how North Korea has competition as persecution gets worse and worse—is to guide prayers and to aim for more effective anger while showing persecuted believers that they are not forgotten.
The 2022 version tracks the time period from October 1, 2020, to September 20, 2021, and is compiled from grassroots reports by Open Doors workers in more than 60 countries.
Where are Christians most persecuted today?
Afghanistan does not represent the only substantial change in this year’s rankings. Myanmar moved up to No. 12 from No. 18, due to increased violence after its coup and discrimination in health care. Qatar climbed to No. 18 from No. 29, as previously tolerated house churches were not permitted to reopen after COVID-19 closures, despite permission given to mosques and the few officially registered church buildings. Indonesia rose to No. 28 from No. 47, driven by two deadly Islamist attacks on churches despite a government crackdown against terrorists. And Cuba jumped to No. 37 from No. 51, due to intensified action against Christian leaders and activists opposing Communist principles.
Overall, the top 10 nations only shuffled positions from last year. Somalia held steady at No. 3, as did Libya at No. 4, Eritrea at No. 6, and India at No. 10. Yemen rose two spots to No. 5, replacing Pakistan which fell three spots to No. 8. Iran fell one spot to No. 9, and Nigeria rose two spots to No. 7, completing the group.
Where It’s Hardest to Follow Jesus:
1. Afghanistan
2. North Korea
3. Somalia
4. Libya
5. Yemen
6. Eritrea
7. Nigeria
8. Pakistan
9. Iran
10. India
Surprisingly removed in November from the US State Department’s annual listing of Countries of Particular Concern after finally being added in 2020, Nigeria was given special attention in the Open Doors report.
“Once you are Christian in Nigeria, your life is always at stake,” said a Nigerian believer identified as Manga, whose father was beheaded by Boko Haram. “[But] it's not like we have anyplace [else] to go; we have no option.”
Africa’s most populous nation ranked first in the WWL subcategories of Christians killed, abducted, sexually harassed, or physically or mentally abused, and in homes and businesses attacked for faith-based reasons. It ranked second in the subcategories of church attacks and internal displacement.
“It has … become increasingly clear that Christians (and minority groups) cannot count on the security apparatus for their protection,” stated the report.
Violations of religious freedom in Nigeria are tied to a rapidly growing Islamist presence in the African Sahel. Mali rose to No. 24 from No. 28, and Open Doors fears it may increase further next year. Burkina Faso held steady at No. 32, and Niger jumped to No. 33 from No. 54. Nearby, the Central African Republic (CAR) rose to No. 31 from No. 35.
“The epicenter of international jihadism is now [in] the Sahel area,” said Illia Djadi, Open Doors senior analyst for freedom of religion and belief for sub-Saharan Africa. “This terrorism is moving south … and predominantly Christian countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast are now affected.” (None rank on the watch list.)
Countries with Christian majorities rank relatively low in the top 50, and include Colombia (No. 30), Cuba (No. 37), Ethiopia (No. 38), the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DRC (No. 40), Mozambique (No. 41), Mexico (No. 43), and Cameroon (No. 44).
Of the top 50 nations:11 have “extreme” levels of persecution and 39 have “very high” levels. Another five nations outside the top 50 also qualify as “very high”: Kenya, Sri Lanka, Comoros, United Arab Emirates, and Tanzania.
18 are in Africa (6 in North Africa), 29 are in Asia, 10 are in the Middle East, 4 are in Central Asia, and 3 are in Latin America.
34 have Islam as a main religion, 4 have Buddhism, 2 have Hinduism, 1 has atheism, 1 has agnosticism—and 10 have Christianity.
The 2022 list included two new countries: Cuba and Niger. Two countries dropped off the list: Kenya and Comoros.
Where Christians Face the Most Violence:
1. Nigeria
2. Pakistan
3. India
4. Central African Republic
5. Democratic Republic of Congo
6. Mozambique
7. Cameroon
8. Afghanistan
9. Mali
10. South Sudan
Open Doors reporting period: Oct. 2020 to Sept. 2021
Other noteworthy increases include Saudi Arabia at No. 11, up from No. 14, due to the availability of more specific information on the situation of migrant converts. Similarly, fellow Gulf nation Oman rose to No. 36 from No. 44, following an increase of surveillance against Christians, especially converts, with several forced to leave the country. And in Asia, Bhutan rose to No. 34 from No. 43, due to a rise in violence against Christians in the traditionally nonviolent Buddhist nation.
Not all noteworthy movement was negative. Iraq and Syria each dropped three slots to No. 14 and No. 15, respectively, due to decreases in their number of churches attacked and Christians killed. Tunisia dropped to No. 35 from No. 25, as fewer Christians were detained, while a decrease in violence against Christians caused Tajikistan to fall to No. 45 from No. 43. Meanwhile, fewer attacks by radical Hindu groups in the Himalayan nation of Nepal led its rank to sink to No. 48, down from No. 34.
Open Doors suggested that some declines may be superficial, however, caused by decreases in Christian activity due to COVID-19. Egypt dropped to No. 20 from No. 16, and Turkey fell to No. 42 from No. 35, as attacks on churches lessened. Yet in Egypt, violence against individual Christians remained high, with eight believers killed, while Turkey witnessed increasingly aggressive government rhetoric against Christians, who suffered from growing social distrust.
Other nations canceled out positive developments with negative ones. Sudan remained at No. 13, given that religious freedom reforms at the national level have not yet been enacted at the local level. Colombia held steady at No. 30 as fewer Christians were killed yet criminal activity and social hostility rose—especially in indigenous communities. And Ethiopia, which dropped two spots to No. 38, saw a drop in violence against Christians offset by community pressures amid civil war conditions that make it difficult to discern religious versus ethnic persecution.
How are Christians persecuted in these countries?
Open Doors tracks persecution across six categories—including both social and governmental pressure on individuals, families, and congregations—and has a special focus on women. Nearly all categories saw increases this year, and some hit record highs.
When violence is isolated as a category, the top 10 persecutors shift dramatically—only Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, and India remain. In fact, 16 nations are deadlier for Christians than North Korea.
Martyrdoms rose by more than 1,000 from the prior year, as Open Doors tallied 5,898 Christians killed for their faith during the reporting period. Representing an increase of 24 percent, the toll remains an improvement over the 2016 high of 7,106 deaths. Nigeria accounted for 79 percent of the total, followed by Pakistan at 11 percent.
Where Christians Were Martyred Most:
1. Nigeria: 4,650
2. Pakistan: 620
3. Name withheld: 100*
4. Burkina Faso 100*
5. Democratic Republic of Congo: 100*
6. Mozambique: 100*
7. Central African Republic: 29
8. Cameroon: 27
9. Tanzania: 25
10. Indonesia: 15
*Estimate | Open Doors reporting period: Oct. 2020 to Sept. 2021
Open Doors is known for favoring a more conservative estimate than other groups, who often tally martyrdoms at 100,000 a year.
Where numbers cannot be verified, estimates are given in round numbers of 10, 100, 1,000, or 10,000, assumed to be higher in reality. And some national tabulations may not be provided due to security reasons, resulting in an “NN” designation for Afghanistan, Maldives, North Korea, Somalia, and Yemen.
Under this rubric, an unnamed nation, Burkina Faso, the DRC, and Mozambique all follow with a symbolic tally of 100 martyrs.
A second category tracks attacks on churches and other Christian buildings such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, whether destroyed, shut down, or confiscated. The tally of 5,110 represents a 14 percent increase from last year, but is only about half of the 2020 report’s high of 9,488.
China (No. 17), which rejoined the top 20 last year for the first time in a decade, led the way with 59 percent of recorded church attacks. Nigeria was second with 470 incidents, followed by Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Qatar. Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Burundi, Angola, and Rwanda all were assigned a symbolic 100 attacks.
Where Churches Were Attacked or Closed Most:
1. China: 3,000
2. Nigeria: 470
3. Bangladesh: 200
4. Pakistan: 183
5. Qatar: 100
6. Central African Republic: 100*
7. Burkina Faso: 100*
8. Mozambique: 100*
9. Burundi: 100*
10. Angola: 100*
*Estimate | Open Doors reporting period: Oct. 2020 to Sept. 2021
The category of Christians detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned set a new high in 2021, with a total of 6,175, about 1,000 more cases than the previous reporting period. Open Doors divides this into two subcategories, with 4,765 detained believers representing an increase of 69 percent. India led with 1,310 cases, and along with an unnamed nation, Pakistan, and China, made up 90 percent of the total.
The tally of 1,410 believers imprisoned, however, represented a decrease of 4 percent from the prior period. An unnamed nation, Eritrea, China, and Bangladesh comprised 91 percent of the total.
Another new high was registered in the number of Christians abducted, with the total of 3,829 representing an increase of 124 percent over the prior period. Nigeria accounted for 66 percent of the total, followed by Pakistan at 26 percent.
By far the largest category total was displacement, with 218,709 Christians forced to leave their homes or go into hiding for faith-related reasons. An additional 25,038 Christians were forced to leave their countries. Myanmar represented 9 in 10 internal displacements and 8 in 10 refugees tallied.
Open Doors stated that several categories were particularly difficult to count accurately, highest of which were the 24,678 cases of physical and mental abuse, including beatings and death threats. Of the 74 nations surveyed, 36 were assigned symbolic numbers. Nigeria was the highest, followed by India, two unnamed nations, Eritrea, Pakistan, Myanmar, China, CAR, Mozambique, and Malaysia.
An estimated total of 4,543 Christian homes and properties were attacked in 2021, along with 1,906 shops and businesses. Of the latter, 18 of 36 countries were given symbolic numbers, with Nigeria first.
Nigeria, Pakistan, and Mozambique had the most in the former category, with only Cameroon and Bangladesh able to record actual cases. Iraq, Syria, China, Burkina Faso, and the DRC rounded out the top 10, each with a symbolic score of 100 attacks.
Categories specific to women were also difficult for Open Doors researchers to count accurately. There were a total of 3,147 cases of rape and sexual harassment, led by Nigeria and Pakistan as the highest, with 36 of 48 countries scored symbolically. For forced marriages to non-Christians there were a total of 1,588, led by Pakistan as the highest of the 25 out of 37 countries scored symbolically.
Why are Christians persecuted in these countries?
The main motivation varies by country, and better understanding the differences can help Christians in other nations pray and advocate more effectively for their beleaguered brothers and sisters in Christ.
Open Doors categorizes the primary sources of Christian persecution into eight groups:
Islamic oppression (33 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in more than half of the watch list countries, including 7 of the top 10 overall: Afghanistan (No. 1), Somalia (No. 3), Libya (No. 4), Yemen (No. 5), Nigeria (No. 7), Pakistan (No. 8), and Iran (No. 9). Most of the 33 are officially Muslim nations or have Muslim majorities; however, 6 actually have Christian majorities: Nigeria, CAR (No. 31), Ethiopia (No. 38), DRC (No. 40), Mozambique (No. 41), and Cameroon (No. 44).
Dictatorial paranoia (5 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in five countries, mostly in Central Asia, with Muslim majorities: Uzbekistan (No. 21), Turkmenistan (No. 25), Bangladesh (No. 29), Tajikistan (No. 45), and Kazakhstan (No. 47).
Communist and post-communist oppression (5 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in five countries, primarily in Asia: North Korea (No. 2), China (No. 17), Vietnam (No. 19), Laos (No. 26), and Cuba (No. 37).
Religious nationalism (4 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in four Asian nations. Christians are primarily targeted by Hindu nationalists in India (No. 10) and Nepal (No. 48), and by Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar (No. 12) and Bhutan (No. 34).
Organized crime and corruption (2 countries): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Colombia (No. 30) and Mexico (No. 43).
Christian denominational protectionism (1 country): This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Eritrea (No. 6).
Secular intolerance (0 countries) and clan oppression (0 countries): Open Doors tracks these sources of persecution, but neither is the main source in any of the 50 countries on the 2022 list. However, last year clan oppression was the primary driver in Afghanistan, Somalia, Laos, Qatar, Nepal, and Oman.
How does the WWL compare to other reports on religious persecution?
Open Doors believes it is reasonable to call Christianity the world’s most severely persecuted religion. At the same time, it notes there is no comparable documentation for the world’s Muslim population.
Other assessments of religious freedom worldwide corroborate many of Open Doors’ findings. For example, the latest Pew Research Center analysis of governmental and societal hostilities toward religion found that Christians were harassed in 153 countries in 2019, more than any other religious group. Muslims were harassed in 147 countries, followed by Jews in 89 countries.
When examining only hostility by governments, Muslims were harassed in 135 countries and Christians in 128 countries, according to Pew. When examining only hostility within society, Muslims were harassed in 115 countries and Christians in 107 countries.
The breakdown corresponds to Open Doors’ data. China, Myanmar, Sudan, and Syria tallied over 10,000 incidents of government harassment each. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Egypt were noted for high levels of social hostility.
Most of the nations on Open Doors’ list also appear on the US State Department’s annual list that names and shames governments that have “engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
Its top-tier Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list includes Myanmar (No. 12 on the 2022 WWL), China (No. 17), Eritrea (No. 6), Iran (No. 9), North Korea (No. 2), Pakistan (No. 8), Russia (which exited the WWL last year), Saudi Arabia (No. 11), Tajikistan (No. 45), and Turkmenistan (No. 25). Its second-tier Special Watch List includes Algeria (No. 22), Comoros (which exited the WWL this year), Cuba (No. 37), and Nicaragua (unranked but monitored by Open Doors).
The State Department also lists Entities of Particular Concern, or nongovernmental actors producing persecution, which are all active in countries on Open Doors’ list. These include Boko Haram and ISWAP in Nigeria (No. 7 on the WWL), the Taliban in Afghanistan (No. 1), Al-Shabaab in Somalia (No. 4), ISIS in primarily Iraq (No. 14), Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria (No. 15), the Houthis in Yemen (No. 5), and ISIS-Greater Sahara and Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in the Sahel.
Meanwhile, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2021 report recommended the same nations for the CPC list, with the addition of Nigeria, India (No. 10), Syria, and Vietnam (No. 19). For the State Department’s watch list, USCIRF recommended the same nations except for Comoros, with the addition of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan (unranked but monitored by Open Doors), Egypt (No. 20), Indonesia (No. 28), Iraq, Kazakhstan (No. 47), Malaysia (No. 50), Turkey (No. 42), and Uzbekistan (No. 21).
All nations of the world are monitored by Open Doors researchers and field staff, but in-depth attention is given to 100 nations and special focus on the 76 which record “high” levels of persecution (scores of more than 40 on Open Doors’ 100-point scale).
CT previously reported the WWL rankings for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012, including a spotlight on where it's hardest to believe. CT also asked experts whether the United States belongs on persecution lists, and compiled the most-read stories of the persecuted church in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.
Read Open Doors’ full report on the 2022 World Watch List here.
Editor’s note: CT offers this report in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Korean, Indonesian, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and Catalan as part of CT Global’s 800+ translations.
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TAGS:
InternationalOpen DoorsPersecutionReligious Freedom
POSTED BY:
Jayson Casper@jnjcasperJanuary 19, 2022
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