THE number one country where Christians are being persecuted the most is North Korea, and according to the watch list, the country has the highest levels of persecution ever seen.
North Korea was recognized as having the highest level of Christian persecution around the world, according to a new study.
Open Doors US is an organization that tracks the persecution of Christians around the world. This week, the organization released its annual report of 50 countries where Christians experience the most extreme levels of discrimination for their faith.
Lisa Pearce, the interim CEO of Open Doors US said on January 18 that the Open Doors World Watch List provides a global annual snapshot of where Christians are being persecuted and how.
The 2023 list was made up of contributions of 4,000 individuals around the world.
“Very often, persecution of Christians is happening underground, in hidden or very rural communities,” Pearce said. “Persecution often increases by stealth. The Open Doors World Watch Unit refers to the ‘smash’ and the ‘squeeze’ of persecution.”
She explained that the smash of big incidents catches the headlines because they affect the most people. The squeeze, on the other hand, is the limiting of rights of Christians and other minorities when it comes to finding employment, excluding Christian youth from education, and beatings in rural towns.
Somalia reportedly came in second and Yemen came in third.
Afghanistan made the ninth spot, and in previous years had ranked higher. Open Doors said fewer Afghan Christians were killed for their faith in 2022, as many left the country or were killed when the Taliban regained control.
Also notable was China, which ranked 16th. The organization said China’s use of digital surveillance technology is adding to persecution and intimidation, and as the tools become more sophisticated, the communist government employed censorship, disinformation and surveillance to gain control over the religious groups.
Open Doors reported that last year, 5,621 Christians were killed because of their faith, and 90% of those deaths were in Nigeria alone. Fox News
