The 50 countries that most persecute Christians in 2025 and the role of communism and islamism

Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world, a persecution that is systematically silenced in many media.

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This Wednesday, January 15, the Christian NGO Open Doors published a new edition of its list of the 50 countries that persecute Christians the most (an archived version can be seen here, for future years). A list largely dominated by communist dictatorships and Islamic regimes, as has been the case in the lists published in recent years by the NGO, and with a growing threat: Hindu extremism in India. This year's persecution map can be downloaded here (see PDF).

1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide

Open Doors highlights that "310m Christians face very high or extreme levels" worldwide. There are other figures for this persecution that should be cause for alarm but which do not usually deserve the attention of the mainstream media: in 2024, 4,476 Christians were killed for their faith, 4,744 were imprisoned for religious reasons, and 7,679 Christian churches and properties were attacked. On average, 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide, a situation suffered by 1 in 5 Christians in Africa and 2 in 5 Christians in Asia.

North Korea once again tops the list of persecution

Once again, North Korea is once again the country at the top of the list, a number one position in Christianophobia that it has held uninterruptedly since 2023. Regarding this brutal and paranoid communist dictatorship, Open Doors points out the following:

"If your Christian faith is discovered in North Korea, you could be killed on the spot. If you aren't killed, you will be deported to a labour camp and treated as a political criminal. You will be punished with years of hard labour that few survive. And it's not only you who will be punished: North Korean authorities are likely to round up your extended family and punish them too, even if your family members aren't Christians.

There is no church life in North Korea. It's impossible to gather for worship or prayer, and even secret worship and prayer is at great risk. Official spies could inform on you, if they have any indication that you are a Christian, and so could your neighbours or teachers."

Al-Shabab Islamism puts Somalia at number 2

The number two spot is occupied by an Islamic country: Somalia, especially due to the dominance of the Islamist terrorist group Al-Shabab, linked to Al-Qaeda in part of that African country. Open Doors denounces:

"In Somalia, following Jesus is a matter of life and death. Al-Shabab, a violent Islamist militant group, is at war with the government and controls large swathes of the country. This group enforces a strict form of Sharia (Islamic law) and is committed to eradicating Christianity from Somalia. They have often killed Somali Christians on the spot. The dangers have increased over the years, as the militants have increasingly focused on finding and eliminating Christian leaders."

Eight communist dictatorships on the list...

As in previous years, eight communist dictatorships appear on the Open Doors list: North Korea (ranked 1), Eritrea (6), People's Republic of China (15), Laos (21), Cuba (26), Nicaragua (30) and Vietnam (44). Both North Korea and Eritrea are in the group with extreme levels of persecution, while the other communist dictatorships are in the group with very high levels of persecution. Let us remember that last year communist China was ranked 19th, so far from easing its persecution of Christians, the pressure from that dictatorship continues and even increases.

...and 35 countries where Islam is the cause of persecution

In addition, the list includes 35 countries where the cause of persecution is Islamic oppression: Somalia (position 2), Yemen (3), Libya (4), Sudan (5), Nigeria (7), Pakistan (8), Iran (9), Afghanistan (10), Saudi Arabia (12), Mali (14), Maldives (16), Iraq (17), Algeria (19), Burkina Faso (20), Morocco (21), Mauritania (23), Uzbekistan (25), Central African Republic (27), Niger (28), Turkmenistan (29), Oman (32), Tunisia (34), Democratic Republic of the Congo (35), Mozambique (37), Kazakhstan (38), Tajikistan (39), Egypt (40), Qatar (41), Comoros (42), Cameroon (43), Turkey (45), Kyrgyzstan (47), Brunei (48), Chad (49) and Jordan (50). The first nine Islamic countries on this list record extreme levels of persecution, while the others have very high levels.

It should be noted that there are Islamic countries that have disappeared from the list, not because there is no longer persecution in them, but because the list is limited to 50 countries. In some previous editions, the list included countries with high levels of persecution. Today, all of the countries on the list have extreme or very high levels, which leaves out countries with high or very high levels of persecution against Christians.

The cases of Mexico and Colombia

On the other hand, the list includes two American countries that are not communist dictatorships but have far-left presidents: Mexico (position 31) and Colombia (46). In both cases, crime is an important reason for persecution, but in Mexico, indigenism and intolerant state secularism are also important reasons.