North Korea is the most dangerous country to be a Christian.
WHERE FAITH IS DANGEROUS
The World Watch List 2024
What would your Christian life look like if you lived somewhere else? Would you be imprisoned for your faith, followed by secret police, or kidnapped by extremists?
The World Watch List reveals the 50 most dangerous countries to be a Christian. Produced annually by expert analysts, the World Watch List is the most authoritative of its kind.
Discover the places where believers are forced to choose between faith and freedom.
Persecution across the world
World Watch List
World Watch List
2024 Report
Find out the regions where persecution is growing most, and the trends impacting global persecution.
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WORLD WATCH LIST
SCORING
EXPLAINED
Our expert researchers measure developing trends in Christian persecution each year from 1 November – 31 October through on-the-ground interviews and data collection. In over 70 countries, we uncover where the Church is most persecuted.
There are two main ways Christians experience persecution: violence and pressure.
Violence
Based on the number of violent incidents in the reporting period.
Pressure
Measured in five spheres of life: private, family, national, church, and community.
Each country receives a score based on a detailed report of violent incidents and the five spheres of pressure. These are added up to a score out of 100, creating each country’s rank on the World Watch List.
EXPLORE THE WORLD WATCH LISTWORLD
WATCH
LIST FAQs
How is the World Watch list put together?
The first World Watch List was produced in January 1993. Countries’ overall persecution scores are an amalgamation of six different scores. This year’s list covers the period 1 Oct 2022 – 30 Sept 2023.
Released at the beginning of each year, the list uses extensive research, data from Open Doors field workers, their in-country networks, external experts and persecution analysts to quantify and analyse persecution worldwide. Each edition is certified by the International Institute for Religious Freedom.
How can we pray?
Please stand with us in prayer. As Open Doors founder, Brother Andrew, says:: “Our prayers can go where we cannot… there are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.” Ephesians 6.18 reminds us, to ‘keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.’
Each quarter we release a prayer guide to help you in praying for the Top 50 countries on the World Watch list. Prayer points have come from our partners on the field and the families and communities they serve. Whether you pray alone or with your bible study or group, we know your prayers are powerful and effective.
Sign up to get a Prayer Guide delivered every quarter.
Sign up todayHow can my church get involved?
We love when churches get involved in learning about the persecuted church. We have resources for you or your pastor to share in church and information to help you pray and support your suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.
Find out moreHow can I help?
We need to stand with our suffering brothers and sisters. Here’s three ways to help:
- Pray: One Afghan believer said, ‘it’s only because of you, because of your prayers that we are still here. If it had not been for your prayers, we would be long gone.
- Give: The needs of the persecuted church are constant. Emergency relief and trauma counselling after an attack; Support to rebuild churches and homes; bibles and Christian resources to strengthen believer’s faith.
- Share: One of the reasons the World Watch List was created was to grow a greater awareness of the depth and breadth of persecution against Christian. Help share the stories of the persecuted church through your church, small group and online.
latest from the persecuted church
FEATURED
STORIES
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Kyrgyzstan | New Law Attacks Religious Freedom
The Church in Kyrgyzstan is facing severe restrictions of religious freedom, as officials from the country’s National Security Committee (NSC)…
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EgyptEgypt | Three Coptic Christians Survive Stabbings
Three Christian men are recovering following a violent attack in a pharmacy in Ashruba village, Minya province, Upper Egypt. It…
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MaliMali | Pay Islamic Tax or Close Your Church
Christians in Mali’s Mopti Region are being ordered to pay crippling taxation in the form of jizya by Islamist extremist groups. Local…
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IndiaIndia | Pastor Arrested On False Charges Of Conversion
On 31 October, we received news of Pastor Rishi’s* arrest under false charges of conversion. He and his family were…
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SudanSudan | 18 Christians Imprisoned
As the war rages on between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces, the situation becomes increasingly precarious…
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LaosLaos: Believers Jailed For Refusing to Deny Faith
On 21 June 2024, local Christian leader Han* was arrested and jailed alongside five believers from his village in the…
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ColombiaColombia: Criminal Gang Activity Creates Fear and Discouragement
Buenaventura, a coastal seaport city in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, is ranked 24th on the list of the 50 most…
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Ivory Coast: Motorbikes Take Ministry to Remote Believers
On 29 March 2024, Open Doors’ local partners on the Ivory Coast provided seven local pastors with motorcycles to support…
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ChinaChina: Preparing Leaders for Persecution
In March this year, three-day persecution preparedness training took place in central China. Around 50 church leaders and workers from…
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NicaraguaNicaragua: Churches and Faith Groups Targeted
The government of President Daniel Ortega revoked the legal status of hundreds of evangelical groups as part of its crackdown…
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Burkina FasoBurkina Faso: Islamic Extremists Kill Over 200 Burkinabe
On Saturday, 24 August 2024, Islamic extremists opened fire on civilians and soldiers digging trenches around the town of Barsalogho,…
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BangladeshBangladesh: Political Crisis Leads to Persecution of Christians
On Monday, 5 August, Bangladesh’s recently deposed Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, resigned after student-led protests turned into a violent demand…
WHERE PERSECUTION COMES FROM
WHAT TYPES OF PERSECUTION DO CHRISTIANS FACE
Our experts use nine broad categories to measure the source of persecution:
- Islamic Oppression – Any violent or non-violent action used to bring countries, communities, and households under Islamic control.
- Religious Nationalism – Using the country’s majority religion to imply Christians do not qualify as citizens.
- Clan Oppression – Instances where a clan or extended family ensures the ongoing practice of traditional values or belief systems by force.
- Ethno-Religious Hostility – When one ethnic group subjects another to hostility based on their religion.
- Christian Denominational Protectionism – Making one Christian denomination the only legitimate expression of Christianity in the country.
- Communist and Post-Communist Oppression – To monitor and control Christians and churches through a system based on communist values.
- Secular Intolerance – To eradicate Christian expression from public life and impose atheistic secularism.
- Dictatorial Paranoia – Persecution derived from an authoritarian government which does everything to maintain power, including tearing down organised groups like Christians.
- Organised Corruption & Crime – Gangs and criminal groups create a climate of anarchy and corruption for selfish gain. Christians will often speak out against them and become targets for persecution.
“If someone is willing to kill me for my faith, my God must be powerful.”
Sara, Egypt