Two in five Christians in Asia face persecution for their faith, says Open Doors 2026 report, as global discrimination reaches record levels.
Newsroom (16/01/2026 Gaudium Press) A record-shattering 388 million Christians worldwide faced persecution for their faith last year, with Asia emerging as one of the hardest-hit regions, according to the latest World Watch List 2026 released by the U.S.-based Christian rights group Open Doors on Jan. 15. The annual index has long tracked religious freedom violations across the globe, but this year’s numbers mark a grim milestone: two out of every five Christians in Asia now face discrimination or hostility due to their faith.
The report, covering the period from October 2024 to September 2025, identifies nine Asian nations among the top 15 where Christians experience the most severe persecution. These include high-risk countries such as North Korea, Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, and Myanmar—each reflecting a different face of religious intolerance, from authoritarian regimes to militant extremism.
North Korea Tops List for 24th Consecutive Year
Once again, North Korea ranked as the most dangerous place to be a Christian, a position it has held for 24 consecutive years. Open Doors described the regime’s “dictatorial paranoia” toward religious communities as a “total surveillance system that criminalizes faith.” Between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians are estimated to be imprisoned in labor camps, often subjected to brutal interrogations after being repatriated from China. Defectors recount conditions that the report likened to “slow extermination through hard labor, starvation, and torture.”
The Expanding Map of Hostility
Following North Korea on the list are Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Mali. While persecution in Africa and the Middle East remains dire, Asia’s share of global persecution has surged, signaling a regional shift in religious repression.
China ranked 17th this year, but experts voiced alarm over the government’s accelerating crackdown on religion, including heightened surveillance of churches, detentions of pastors, and the demolition of Christian crosses. Meanwhile, India’s sweeping anti-conversion laws continue to expose religious minorities to harassment and mob violence, particularly in the country’s northern states.
Open Doors analysts also highlighted rising threats in Myanmar, where civil war has intensified state and militia attacks on Christian communities, especially in Chin, Kachin, and Karen regions.
Stark Numbers Behind the Faith
The World Watch List measures persecution on a 100-point scale, assessing violence and social pressure across five spheres of daily life: private, family, community, national, and church. It combines on-the-ground assessments from local researchers in 100 countries, offering a rare, granular view of faith-based oppression.
Between October 2024 and September 2025, 4,849 Christians were murdered, while 4,712 were detained and 3,632 Churches and Christian properties were attacked. Although the number of church attacks fell from 7,679 the previous year, Open Doors cautioned that violence against believers remains alarmingly high, particularly in parts of Africa and Asia.
Despite ranking seventh overall, Nigeria remains the deadliest country for Christians, with more than 25,200 believers killed since 2020, primarily by extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates.
Growing Global Concern
Advocates fear these findings reflect a global erosion of religious freedom. “The persecution of Christians is both deepening and spreading,” said an Open Doors spokesperson during the report’s virtual release. “In Asia, authoritarian control and nationalist movements are increasingly targeting Christian communities as threats to state unity or cultural identity.”
Human rights groups have urged world governments and international organizations to strengthen diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to protect vulnerable religious minorities. Analysts warn that the intersection of political authoritarianism, ethnic nationalism, and conflict is driving a new wave of persecution—one that could further marginalize Christian minorities if left unchecked.
As the year unfolds, the 2026 World Watch List serves as a chilling reminder that for millions of believers across Asia, faith remains a matter not just of conviction, but survival.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
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