North Korea (1)
Since 2002, North Korea (1) has been the most difficult place to follow Jesus. But terrible though it is, it’s not an outlier. Afghanistan (2) and Somalia (3)are close behind in the Open Doors analysis of persecution risk.
Since 2002, North Korea (1) has been the most difficult place to follow Jesus. But terrible though it is, it’s not an outlier. Afghanistan (2) and Somalia (3)are close behind in the Open Doors analysis of persecution risk.
Last year, Burkina Faso wasn’t even in the top 50. Now it’s the 28th hardest place to follow Christ. This is largely due to radical Islamic attacks on churches, Christian schools and health centres.
The horrific Easter church attacks, in which more than 250 people were killed, are the main reason that Sri Lanka (30) has jumped 16 places from number 46.
Bangladesh (38) has risen 10 places this year, and this reflects worsening persecution in all spheres of life, including a sharp increase in violence.
In the past two years, China (23) has risen sharply on the World Watch List - from 43 in 2018. Increasingly, churches are pressured and monitored by the state.
Indonesia (49) has fallen furthest of any country. This is largely because of its unusually high ranking in 2018, when coordinated attacks on three churches that killed 18 people.
The church is alive. The church is active. The church is growing. And that’s why the church is persecuted.
The persecution of Christians is getting more severe than ever, 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.
A staggering 260 million Christians in the top 50 countries on the World Watch List face high or extreme levels of persecution for their faith: in the previous year, it was 245 million. And Open Doors estimates that there are another 50 million Christians facing high levels of persecution in a further 23 countries outside the top 50. This includes Mexico, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Of the top 50, 45 countries have been designated ‘extreme’ or ‘very high’, in terms of the levels of persecution Christians face. That’s five more than last year.
Attacks against churches have risen an astonishing 500 per cent – 9,488 compared to 1,847 the previous year. These attacks include church closures, and the significant increase is largely due to the actions of authorities in China (23).
In 2019, 2,983 Christians were killed for their faith. That figure is shocking and upsetting, but it is fewer than the number of believers reported killed in 2018 (4,305) or 2017 (3,066). This is largely due to fewer murders in Nigeria (12), which remains far and away the country where Christians are most likely to be killed for their faith.
Persecution keeps apace of modern developments, and governments are increasingly using surveillance. The explosion in digital technologies has been used to target Christians – particularly in China (23) and India (10) , where facial-recognition technology and artificial intelligence have been used to identify and discriminate against believers.
In Syria (11) and Iraq (15), some Christians are beginning to return home and rebuild their communities …following the defeat of Islamic State militants. But the continued presence of Islamic extremist groups and ongoing political instability continue to threaten the church – as was recently demonstrated by the Turkish military incursion into north east Syria. In sub-Saharan Africa, radical Islamic groups are also taking advantage of instability in countries like Mali (29), Niger (50) and Burkina Faso (28).
For the first time in decades, Christians in Sudan are no longer ruled by the dictatorial President Omar Al-Bashir, a serial violator of the international right to freedom to religion or belief. There is hope amongst Sudan's Christian community that great freedoms may therefore become a reality. It's still high on the World Watch List, at number seven, but things are moving at a pace that nobody thought possible.
Mandera County is often hostile to Christians, and believers in the region have been killed by al-Shabaab militants. In 2019, however, local Muslims managed to avert an al-Shabaab attack on a Christian workers: when they heard about it, they alerted the Christians, who managed to escape to safety. The warning from Muslims saved many lives.
As Islamic State was driven out of the Nineveh plain, Christians have begun to return and rebuild their lives. Your support and prayers have enabled Open Doors local church partners to repair houses that were damaged and over 1000 families have been able to return. Open Doors local partners are now focusing less on providing food aid, and more on helping believers to start small businesses to give them the dignity of supporting themselves.
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.
Your support helps persecuted Christians continue to courageously follow Jesus.
Together, we can reach those where persecution hits hardest.