Christians are the most persecuted group worldwide

By Nile Hosni –

Twelve Christians are killed for their faith every day around the world, according to the World Watch List’s recently reported findings for 2025.

That makes Christianity the most persecuted faith in the world. But if you were to pay attention to the U.S. media, you’d think that LGBTQ suffers the most persecution.

In raw numbers, 380 million Christians suffer persecution on the scale of mild to severe, published by Open Doors, an international human rights group. Out of every seven Christians, one is persecuted.

It’s worse in Africa, where one of every five Christians is persecuted.

Still worse is Asia where two of every five Christians gets persecuted.

Of the top 13 worst nations for persecution, #1 was North Korea. The next 12 are all Muslim dominant and persecute Christianity for religious reasons (North Korea persecutes Christians for political reasons). That’s 70% of the worst persecution originating from Islamic oppression.

“Muslim persecution of Christians is existential, perennial and far transcends this or that regime or ruler,” says Raymond Ibrahim, a historian who documents Muslim persecution of Christians. “It’s part of the history, doctrines and sociopolitical makeup of Islam – hence its tenacity and ubiquity.”

Persecution includes assault, rape, imprisonment, murder/execution. Sometimes, the grounds for the persecution is blasphemy, apostasy and evangelism. Sometimes, the “crime” is simply being Christian.

The worst Islamic persecutors, according to the report:

1. Somalia – “Following Jesus is a matter of life and death al-Shabab 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
2. Yemen – “The 1% of Yemenis from minority religions are severely marginalized. If someone is reported to be a Christian and/or involved in Christian activities they could face severe monitoring, arbitrary detention torture, ill treatment and even murder.”
3. Libya – “Libyan Christians with a Muslim background face violent pressure from their families and communities to renounce their faith. Foreign Christians, especially those from sub-saharan Africa, are targeted by Islamist militant and criminal groups These groups kidnap and sometimes brutally kill Christians.”
4. Sudan – “More than 100 churches have been damaged so far, and Christians have been abducted and killed. Sudanese Christians who have come to faith from a Muslim background face severe backlash from their families and communities.”
5. Nigeria – “Jihadist violence continues to escalate in Nigeria, and Christians are particularly at risk from targeted attacks by Islamist militants, including Fulani fighters, Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa province. The attacks are shockingly brutal. Many believers are killed, particularly men, while women are often kidnapped and targeted for sexual violence. More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world. A total of 3,100 Nigerian Christians paid the ultimate price for their faith in 2024.”
6. Pakistan – “Pakistan‘s notorious blasphemy laws are often used to target minority groups, but Christians are disproportionately affected. Blasphemy laws carry a death sentence. People accused of blasphemy are vulnerable to attack or murder by mobs. The number of Christian girls abducted, abused and forcefully converted to Islam, frequently backed by lower courts, is growing.”
7. Iran – “Unrecognized converts from Islam to Christianity face severe religious freedom violations primarily from the government. The government views these converts as a threat, believing they are influenced by Western countries to undermine Islam and the regime. Both leaders and ordinary members of Christian groups are often arrested, prosecuted and given long prison sentences for crimes against national security.”
8. Afghanistan – “Most Afghan Christians are converts from Islam which makes it basically impossible to practice their faith openly. In Afghanistan, leaving Islam and conversion is punishable by death under Islamic law. This has been increasingly enforced since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021. If converts are discovered. the family, clan or tribe may try to preserve its honor and deal with a convert through pressure, violence or even murder.”
9. Saudi Arabia – “Most Saudi Christians tend to follow their faith quietly and secretly. This extends as far as not even telling their own spouse or children about their faith for fear that extended family members or school staff could discover that they have left Islam.”

There are other Muslim countries that, even though they don’t make the worst offenders list, persecute Christians. Of all, there are rich countries, poor countries, advanced countries, underdeveloped ones, Asian ones, African ones – all sorts of cultures.

“What binds all of these diverse nations together, what makes them all exhibit the same hostile behavior against Christians?” Ibrahim says. “The answer should be clear. The one and only common denominator they all share is Islam. Is there any more ironclad proof that Islam is inherently hostile to Christians, indeed to all infidels.”