Christian persecution on the rise worldwide, new report says

MALMÖ, Sweden (OSV News) -- A new report by Open Doors International said that more than 380 million Christians faced persecution and discrimination in 2024, an increase of 15 million from the year before.

The report, titled "The World Watch List 2025" and published Jan. 15, ranked the top 50 countries where Christians were persecuted most between Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024.

"Far from being given equal protection as citizens, all too often Christians across the world are denied basic legal rights in societies hostile to their faith," the report stated.

Founded in 1955, Open Doors International, which has offices in 27 countries, advocates and provides services for persecuted Christians worldwide. According to its website, the NGO aims "to encourage and raise up people in every nation to pray, support and speak up for Christians around the world who suffer for their faith."

Open Doors said that throughout the year, an estimated 4,476 Christians were murdered, of which 3,100 were killed in Nigeria, which ranked seventh on the list.

"Though fewer Christians were killed for their faith in Nigeria compared to last year, it remains disproportionately deadly for Christians," the organization said.

It also estimated that 4,744 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned for their faith, including in India where "1,629 Christians were detained without trial and another 547 were sentenced to prison."

Other countries where Christians have faced imprisonment for their faith included Eritrea, Bangladesh and Iran.

North Korea, which has been at the top of the list "for all but one year since 2002," was once again at the No. 1 spot, the organization reported. It also noted a particular increase in violence and that "there is an even greater emphasis on ideological purity and any perceived or real outside threat is viciously purged" in the country.

Speaking over the phone with OSV News Jan. 15, Peter Paulsson, secretary general of Open Doors International's Swedish office, noted the correlation between the steady decline of democracy worldwide since 2005 and the yearly rise in Christian persecutions since 2006.

"The total number of countries on our list have had an increase year by year, all the way from 2006," Paulsson told OSV News. "So there is a connection with people living in democratic countries or living with some form of freedom. If that vanishes, you will have difficulties, especially in areas where Christians are the minority."

Among the most concerning trends identified by the report was an increase in Christian persecutions in Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, which ranked 47th on the list, compared to ranking 61st in 2024.

"This was, by far, the biggest move on the list, and the primary reason was a sharp uptick in violence against the church," the report stated.

The report included specific cases, including an armed raid by representatives of the State Commission on Religious Affairs at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Talas. Authorities, the report said, "forced departing worshippers back inside, and held the congregation there until two nuns had signed a statement admitting to 'illegal missionary activities' and 'spreading their ideology.'"

Paulsson told OSV News that the rise in Christians persecutions in Central Asia were in large part due to autocratic regimes with "laws in place" that not only target individual Christians, "but also churches, including home church movements," which are unregistered.

"Both groups have been attacked in different ways by the regime as well as (by) individuals," he said.

He also noted that although it does not appear on its top 50 list, the Philippines, a country with a "pretty big Christian population, has also made it to the top 78 countries."

Another country that has seen a sharp increase was Algeria which ranked 19th on its list. According to its report, Open Doors stated that "the number of Christians awaiting trial and sentencing is at an all-time high" in the African country.

"The government attempted various forms of financial and organizational pressure to weaken churches, with a particular focus on online Christian activities. In addition, the authorities continue to systematically close Protestant churches," the report stated.

Paulsson told OSV News that it hopes Open Doors International's latest report will "expose" the ongoing persecution of Christians in the world, especially in countries that have signed "international conventions about human rights" as well as urge the international community to pressure those countries to abide by those laws.

"We do a lot in this area of advocacy that we believe will be a help or support the persecuted church in the long run," he said.