By Dr. Emanuel Adil Ghauri
Open Doors, a charity that protects Christians around the world from persecution, has been publishing its World Watch List for the past 30 years, ranking various countries according to the level of persecution faced by Christians. The list published for 2024 and 2025 identifies ten countries as the most unsafe for Christians. These countries include North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, and Iran.
According to the report, 380 million Christians in 78 countries face extreme persecution and discrimination. However, the ten countries listed above are considered the most dangerous for Christians. Pakistan ranks seventh, based on the severity of persecution, which includes government repression, social hostility, and violence. Sub‑Saharan Africa is identified as the deadliest region for Christians, with a disproportionate number of faith‑related killings.
Below is an overview of the situation in each country.
1. North Korea
Violence against Christians in North Korea is extremely severe, with the nation consistently ranked as the worst in the world for persecuting Christians. The state views Christianity as a threat to the ruling Kim family’s image and as a tool of Western imperialism, making any religious activity a serious political crime. Christians are often executed immediately if their faith is discovered. Public execution is prescribed for crimes such as possessing a Bible or engaging in religious rituals. Believers are typically sent to brutal political prison camps (kwanliso) as political criminals.
An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians are currently imprisoned in these camps. Prisoners face severe ill‑treatment, including beatings with metal bars and sticks, strangulation, starvation, sleep deprivation, and psychological torture. Documentary accounts from former detainees describe horrific methods of torture, such as being crucified over fire, crushed under steamrollers, subjected to sexual violence, and forced abortions.
2. Nigeria
Christians in Nigeria are frequently targeted through assassinations and kidnappings. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), approximately 53,000 Christians have been killed in targeted political violence since 2009. Television host Bill Maher has stated that more than 100,000 people have been killed since 2009 and that 18,000 churches have been burned down.
On November 21, 2025, gunmen kidnapped 315 Nigerian Christians from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Nigeria. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
3. Sudan
Christians in Sudan face severe and escalating persecution, primarily due to the ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Both factions, along with allied Islamist extremists, have systematically targeted Christian places of worship, creating a climate of fear and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
More than 165 churches have been damaged, looted, or destroyed. Christian buildings have been forcibly occupied by RSF- and SAF‑affiliated militias and used as military bases. Priests have been particularly targeted, with reports of kidnappings, shootings, and stabbings.
4. Somalia
Somalia is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, who face extreme violence, persecution, and the threat of summary execution by militant groups. Persecution stems from both extremist groups and conservative social pressures within Somali society.
Al‑Shabaab, an Islamic militant group linked to al‑Qaeda, controls large areas of the country and is determined to eradicate Christianity. The group enforces a strict interpretation of Sharia law and has targeted and killed numerous Christians when their faith is discovered. Aid workers are also targeted, often accused of attempting to convert people to Christianity. Churches have been burned, and priests have faced executions and physical attacks. Conversion from Islam to Christianity is considered a betrayal of both religion and Somali identity.
Due to extreme danger, Christians in Somalia must practice their faith in complete secrecy.
5. Libya
Christians in Libya face extreme violence and persecution from state‑affiliated armed groups, making it one of the most dangerous countries for Christians globally. The 2015 beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by the Islamic State in Sirte drew international attention and remains a stark example of the brutality faced by Christians in the country.
6. Eritrea
Eritrea practices systematic and severe persecution of Christians, especially those belonging to unregistered denominations. The government—often referred to as the “North Korea of Africa”—is known for extreme control, arrests, indefinite detention, and torture of Christians without charge or trial.
Christians are closely monitored, with non‑traditional Protestants such as Pentecostals and Evangelicals facing the harshest treatment and often being viewed as “agents of the West.” Even leaders of recognized churches who speak out against government interference are subject to arbitrary arrest.
International organizations, including the United States, have designated Eritrea as a “country of particular concern” for severe violations of religious freedom.
7. Pakistan
Violence against Christians in Pakistan takes many forms, including religious extremism, sectarian violence, misuse of blasphemy laws, extrajudicial killings, forced marriages of Christian girls, and incidents of forced religious conversion. Minority communities have been targeted in attacks, and discrimination and oppression have been documented since 1947 and continue today.
8. Afghanistan
Violence and persecution against Christians in Afghanistan are carried out by both the Taliban regime and extremist groups such as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), leading to increased forced migration.
Christians and other religious minorities face threats, harassment, and forced hiding. The Taliban deny the existence of Christians in the country and enforce a strict interpretation of Sharia law. Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the situation has deteriorated significantly, with ISKP continuing to carry out violent attacks.
9. Iran
Christians in Iran face systematic, state‑sanctioned persecution, harassment, arbitrary arrest, and imprisonment. The rate of imprisonment has reportedly increased sixfold. The government views evangelical Christianity as a threat to national security. Christians are frequently arrested on vague charges such as “acting against national security,” “propaganda against the government,” or engaging in “deviant missionary activity.” Sentences can exceed 10 to 15 years.
Detained Christians report torture during interrogation, physical abuse, harsh mistreatment in custody, and prolonged solitary confinement.
10. Yemen
Violence and severe discrimination against Christians in Yemen are driven by extremist groups such as ISIS‑Y and AQAP, as well as Houthi forces. Security concerns make reliable data collection difficult, and many existing churches have been damaged or destroyed.
Converts face threats of death and risk deportation if they do not renounce their Christian faith. Christian women are at high risk of sexual harassment, rape, and forced marriage by Muslim men. Many Christians live in fear and are forced to practice their faith in secret to avoid accusations of apostasy, which can be punishable by death.
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