Christians In Asia Among Most Persecuted In World: Report
By UCA News
(UCA News) — A record high of over 388 million Christians faced discrimination and persecution for their faith across the world last year, with nine Asian countries listed among the top 15 nations where Christians face extreme levels of hostility, says the new report from US-based Christian rights group Open Doors.
Two out of every five Christians in Asia faced persecution for their faith compared to one out of five in Africa and one out of seven worldwide, says Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026, which was released on Jan. 15.
The report covers the period from October 2024 to September 2025, and found that the number of persecuted Christians increased to 388 million from 380 million in the previous year.
North Korea was ranked as the most dangerous country to be a Christian for the 24th consecutive year.
The report said that North Korea’s communist regime’s “dictatorial paranoia against the Christian community” fuels persecution of Christians. It said that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians are thought to be held in forced labor camps in North Korea, with “abundant evidence” of “brutal interrogations” against fugitives repatriated from China.
Other top 15 countries are Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Mali.
China was ranked 17th among the top 50 countries where Christians face high levels of persecution.
The report expressed concerns over the situation of Christian in Syria that worsened since the fall of the Assad regime. It also raised alarms over China’s increasing crackdown on religion, including Christians, sweeping anti-conversion laws in India, and ongoing violence in civil war-plagued Myanmar.
The World Watch List uses real-world data from experts on the ground in 100 countries, Open Doors said. Persecution of Christians is measured with a comprehensive points system that tracks violence and pressure.
This measures the number and severity of violent incidents against Christians and the degree of pressure exerted against the practice of their faith in 5 spheres of life: private, family, community, national life, and church life.
During the reported period, a total of 4,849 Christians were murdered, 4,712 Christians were detained, and 3,632 Churches and Christian properties were attacked.
The previous report recorded 4,476 killings of Christians and 7,679 attacks on Churches and Christian properties.
Though placed 7th in the ranking, Nigeria remains the top country in terms of killing of Christians worldwide in recent times. The report said over 25,200 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2020.
