Communism, Islamism and the 50 countries that most persecute Christians in 2026

Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world, and there are 50 countries where that persecution reaches very high or extreme levels.

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Once again, the Christian NGO Open Doors has published its World Watch List (WWL), which lists the 50 countries where Christians suffer the highest levels of persecution. As has been the case for several years, due to the increase in violence, harassment, and discrimination against followers of Christ, the map only reflects two levels of persecution: extreme (in red) and very high (in orange). Years ago, the map also included countries in yellow, where the level of persecution was high.

4,849 Christians were murdered for their faith in 2025

Open Doors highlights that Christians suffer extreme levels of persecution in 15 countries. These are, in order of prevalence, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Mali. The NGO also notes that 4,849 Christians were killed for their faith in 2025. Furthermore, 3,632 churches and Christian properties were attacked last year, a period in which 224,129 Christians were forced to flee their homes, go into hiding within their countries, or leave the country altogether. Open Doors also reports that 388 million Christians face high levels of persecution or discrimination in the countries where they live.

Six communist dictatorships and three other far-left governments are on the list

Once again, communism and Islamism are the main causes of this persecution. In countries where these ideologies are part of the regime's official discourse, Christians face a particularly difficult situation. Once again, the communist dictatorship of North Korea tops the list. It is the country where Christians face the most oppressive situation.

This year's list includes five more communist dictatorships: Eritrea (ranked 5th), the People's Republic of China (17th), Cuba (24th), Laos (28th), and Nicaragua (32nd). For the first time in recent years, a communist dictatorship is no longer on this list. Last year, the communist dictatorship of Vietnam ranked 44th, but this year it has dropped in the rankings and is no longer on the list, which does not mean that Christians have stopped suffering persecution there.

On the other hand, this year Nepal, with its communist government, enters the list at number 46. Some consider it the only communist government in a democratic country, but The Economist's Democracy Index classifies the Asian country's political system as a hybrid regime. Likewise, two American countries with far-left governments re-enter the list: Mexico (rising from 30th to 31st place) and Colombia (falling from 46th to 47th).

37 of the 50 nations on the list are Islamic countries

As in previous years, Islamism is the leading cause of persecution on the list. This year there have been some changes in the rankings. The most notable is that Syria has risen from 18th to 6th place, due to the brutal persecution of Christians being carried out by the new Islamist government (the country has seen one dictatorship fall and another emerge).

There are 37 Muslim countries in this year's LMP. They are as follows: Somalia (2nd place), Yemen (3), Sudan (4), Syria (6), Nigeria (7), Pakistan (8), Libya (9), Iran (10), Afghanistan (11), Saudi Arabia (13), Mali (15), Burkina Faso (16), Iraq (18), Maldives (19), Algeria (20), Mauritania (21), Central African Republic (22), Morocco (23), Uzbekistan (25), Niger (26), Tajikistan (27), Democratic Republic of Congo (29), Tunisia (31), Bangladesh (33), Turkmenistan (35), Cameroon (37), Oman (38), Mozambique (39), Kyrgyzstan (40), Turkey (41), Egypt (42), Comoros (43), Qatar (44), Kazakhstan (45), Chad (48), Jordan (49) and Brunei (50).