The 50 countries where Christians are most oppressed all have ‘very high’ levels of persecution of believers for the first time, Open Doors says in a new report.
The organisation says that never before in its annual ‘World Watch List’ have all of the 50 top nations been categorised with such a level of severity. Twelve countries are categorised as having ‘extreme’ levels of persecution, up from 11 the year before. And there are another 24 countries scoring ‘very high’ or ‘high’ levels of persecution that don’t even make it into the top 50.
Six significant countries (along with their place on the list) highlighted by Open Doors are:
North Korea (1)
2021 marks the twentieth year that North Korea has been at the top of the Open Doors World Watch List. While Christians face the most extreme persecution there, Afghanistan (2) and Somalia (3) are not far behind.
Sudan (13)
Praise God, Sudan has fallen six places on the World Watch List – since former president Omar Al-Bashir was ousted, Islamic law has been removed and religious freedom is progressing.
Iraq (11)
Violence against Christians in Iraq has increased sharply in the past year, which is why the country is four places higher than on the World Watch List 2020.
Nigeria (9)
Nigeria rises three places: more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined. Violence in sub-Saharan Africa is also why DRC (40) and Mozambique (45) are in the top 50 this year, up from 57 and 66 respectively.
Colombia (38)
Despite being a Christian country, increasing violence from cartels sees Colombia rise 11 places. It’s a similar story for Mexico (37), up from number 52 last year.
China (17)
China was at number 48 in 2018, and continues a dramatic rise up the World Watch List – believers are intensely monitored by the state, using sophisticated and oppressive technology.
