"Worldwide, 380 million Christians do not enjoy the basic human right to believe what they want", denounces Cristian Nani, "how many more killed, displaced, abused and imprisoned do we have to count before we put religious freedom at the center of public debate?
The director of Open Doors presents today the annual report on the harassment of Christians around the world. World Watch List 2025 is the list of the top 50 countries where they are most persecuted for their faith.
A shocking report: one in seven Christians experience persecution or discrimination. A rising trend that has increased the number of Christians under fire worldwide from 365 to 380. .
The blacklist is topped by North Korea, as it has been for 23 years, but there are no fewer than 13 countries where persecution is "at an extreme level," including Eritrea and India.
The North Korean dictatorship has zero tolerance. Between 50,000 and 70,000 people are held in concentration camps. "There are nations like North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan, where the only way to live the Christian faith is in secret," Nani explains. "The Algerian government closes all Protestant churches, while the Chinese government harasses those who dare to claim freedom of worship, and the Iranians persecute Christians who meet in their homes. The hidden church is perhaps the fastest growing church in the world today.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the epicenter of violence. There are 16.2 million Christian refugees or displaced persons in this region alone. Worldwide killings have thankfully dropped from 4,998 faith-based deaths last year to 4,476. Nigeria, with fewer victims, is still the epicenter of the massacres with 3,100 killed. The presentation will include the moving testimony of a Nigerian widow who saw her husband murdered in front of her by Boko Haram terrorists.
Northern Nigeria is also infested with the breakaway faction of the Islamic State of West Africa Province. Jihadist groups are "joined" by Fulani herdsmen who attack farming communities, killing hundreds of people, especially Christians.
The blacklist shows that Central Asia is becoming the new "hell" for Christians.
No country in the top 50 had a higher increase in its persecution score than Kyrgyzstan (up 7). Armed representatives of the State Commission for Religious Affairs raided St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Talas, threatening worshippers until "two Slovak nuns signed a statement admitting to 'illegal missionary activities' and 'spreading their ideology. In Kazakhstan, "at least 20 Christian women have been sexually assaulted because of their religion, and as many have been forced to marry Muslim men. The scourge of rape, abuse and forced marriage has been recorded at 3,944 cases, but this is only the tip of the iceberg as many such cases go unreported. There are 3755 abducted Christians, and in the Myanmar conflict, ranked 13th on the blacklist, Christians are trapped in the ongoing fighting.
One "good" piece of news is that attacks on churches worldwide have halved, from 14,766 to 7,679. But Nani points to the increase in "the number of homes and businesses looted or destroyed, more than 28,000. One of the reasons for the flight of families and entire communities, exoduses of a church on the run, crying out for help".
