According to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, 2025 marked the deadliest year in modern history for Christians. Roughly 4,850 people were killed for their faith and millions more have faced violence, abuse, displacement, or discrimination worldwide.
Over 388 million Christians — more than one in seven globally — experience high levels of persecution, driven mainly by war, anarchy, authoritarian regimes, nationalism, and religious hostility.
North Korea ranked as the most dangerous country for Christians for the 24th time, followed by Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, and Eritrea; Syria saw a sharp rise in persecution after political instability in 2024.
Persecution is becoming more sophisticated, with tactics expanding to include AI surveillance, propaganda, and economic restrictions. However, Open Doors highlighted that the Christian faith continues to endure and grow despite attempts to eradicate it.
Open Doors, a ministry tracking and supporting persecuted Christians around the world, recently released its 2026 persecution report, which calls 2025 “the deadliest year” for Christians in modern history.
The updated World Watch List ranks North Korea as the most dangerous country for Christians for the 24th time. Somalia ranks second, followed by Yemen, Sudan, and Eritrea. Syria, ranked sixth, saw a dramatic rise in Christian persecution last year after the 2024 fall of the Assad regime led to political instability, according to the report.
The report found that more than 388 million Christians — more than one in seven Christians worldwide — face high levels of persecution and discrimination. In 2025, 4,849 Christians were killed for their faith and 67,843 were beaten, threatened, or abused, physically and psychologically. More than 5,000 were sexually assaulted, harassed, or forced into a marriage with someone of a different religion, and 224,129 were forced into hiding or exile from their country.
Open Doors attributed the majority of Christian persecution to war and anarchy but said that other contributing factors are dictatorships, authoritarianism, nationalism, and hatred of the Faith.
In the 2026 World Watch List report, Open Doors U.S. CEO Ryan Brown said that the list “reveals something remarkable” about persecution trends.
“Persecution isn’t just getting worse — it’s getting more creative,” he said.
Later in the report, Open Doors added that persecution is evolving “beyond traditional methods,” which include the use of artificial intelligence to identify Christians, polarizing propaganda, and economic restrictions that have major implications for Christians’ employment, education, and other needs.
Despite the sobering numbers outlined in the report, Open Doors reminded readers that Christian persecution will never tear down the Kingdom of God.
“Against the odds, in refugee camps and prison cells, in houses and apartments, faith finds a way. Tiny as a mustard seed, silent as yeast, Christianity can grow anywhere,” Open Doors stated, later adding, “Because with man things might be impossible, but with God it’s a different story entirely.”