Worldwide, 365 million Christians face persecution or discrimination for their faith in Christ.
Each year, Open Doors U.S. unveils its annual World Watch List detailing the worst persecutors. This year’s report focuses on alarming persecution trends in Africa and one impoverished nation not far from the United States.
The usual countries of concern top this year’s World Watch List: North Korea is the top persecutor of Christians, followed by Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, and Yemen – home of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, the terrorist group attacking ships transiting the Red Sea.
Open Doors U.S. CEO Ryan Brown said the greatest concern is the rising tide of violence worldwide against followers of Christ, especially by Islamic and autocratic regimes in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Christians can become easy targets for those that are looking to create instability within those environments,” Brown explained. “They can do so with impunity, that they’ve received no consequence for those actions. Because again, Christians are not often protected or recognized by the governments in those areas.”
The report documents that 4,998 Christians died for their faith in 2023, but many deaths might go unreported. That’s compared to 5,621 the previous year.
Christians stand inside a church building torched by an angry
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