In the annual survey of persecution around the world monitoring how difficult it is to live as a Christian, published on 15 January, among the top 50 alone, 260 million Christians face a level of persecution measured as extreme, very high, or high. Across the top 50, pressure is rising. In 2020, 34 countries registered a ‘very high’ level of persecution. In 2019, the number was 29.
Estimates suggest there are at least a further 50million Christians facing high levels of persecution among the next 23 countries in the list. That makes one in eight Christians who face persecution measured as extreme, very high, or high. The list is based on extensive surveys combined with expert interviews.
Summary
• China up four places, from 27 to 23.
• Morocco rises from 35 to 26.
• Qatar rises from 38 to 27.
• Burkina Faso rises from 61 to 28.
• Sri Lanka rises from 46 to 30.
• Bangladesh rises from 48 to 38.
The threat of violence from Islamic militancy is a danger for the church. In April 2019 a rural imam issued a fatwa: ‘If you kill one Christian, you will receive blessings equal to 100 Islamic religious martyrs’.
