BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. (BP) — Within Africa, with more Christians than any other continent, is Nigeria, the deadliest nation for believers at the hands of Islamic terrorists and suffers persistently high violence in a dozen countries in its sub-Saharan region.

Add to that the civil war in Sudan that has created the largest displacement crisis in the world, as well as lingering civil wars elsewhere, and it’s no wonder that an additional 15 million Christians are suffering high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, Open Doors said Jan. 15 in unveiling its 2025 World Watch List of the 50 hardest places for Christians to live.

The number of Christians impacted by persecution rose to 380 million this year from 365 million in 2024, accounting for 1 in 7 Christians globally, driven not only by violence and civil war, but also rising authoritarianism in Central Asia.

Killed for their faith were 4,476 Christians, Open Doors said in the report covering events in 2024.

The global picture of persecution continues to worsen, Open Doors CEO Ryan Brown told Baptist Press.

“The enemy is seeking to oppose the church. If the church wasn’t being active, if the church wasn’t doing what Christ was calling it to do — seeking to be the hands and feet of Christ in a world in desperate need of a Savior —- if the church wasn’t rising up and looking to make disciples and go into all the world,” Brown said, “persecution wouldn’t be increasing.”

Brown sees hope in the darkness.

“The church is active,” he said. “The church is seeking to grow. The church is seeking to be the hands and feet of Christ in this very broken world.”

Still, the church has been driven underground in Algeria, where all Protestant churches have been forced to close; in China, where unregistered churches are no longer tolerated, and in Libya, Syria and Afghanistan.

North Korea maintains its top spot on the list for the 23rd year as the most dangerous country for Christians. There, an estimated 400,000 live secretly as Christians among a greater population of 26.2 million, under threat of immediate persecution or deportation to a dangerous labor camp upon discovery.

Under the Kim regime which seeks to control behavior and beliefs, Open Doors wrote, “It has been reported that about 30 teenagers were executed just for watching a South Korean drama last year. In this environment, even secret Christian worship and prayer is an enormous risk.”

But the top 10 on the list include Somalia at No. 2; Sudan, which moved up from 8th on the list in 2024 to No. 5; Libya at 4, driven by Islamic militant and criminal groups; Eritrea at 6, often called the “North Korea of Africa” and noted for house raids and mass Christian arrests; and Nigeria at 7, where 3,100 Christians were killed.

In Nigeria, researchers noted a new rising terrorist group, the Lakurawa, emerging in the northwest with advanced weapons and a radical Islamic agenda. Said to be affiliated with the Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, which originated in Mali, joins longstanding jihadists Boko Haram, ethnic Fulani militia and the Islamic State West Africa Province, among others, that have terrorized the nation for years.

Completing the top 10 on the watch list are Yemen at 3, where a minority Christian population suffers from a civil war that has continued since 2015; Pakistan at 8, where blasphemy laws target Christians and sexual violence is increasing against girls; Iran at 9, where Christianity is considered a threat to national security and punished with lengthy prison sentences; and Afghanistan, 10, where practicing faith openly as a Christian is impossible.

Among key findings for Christians:

• 209,771 were forced to leave their homes for hiding or exile.
• 54,780 were beaten, threatened or physically and mentally abused.
• 28,368 attacks on Christian homes, shops and businesses, including almost 20,000 in sub-Saharan Africa.
• 4,744 Christians detained, arrested or sentenced for faith-related reasons — 3,944 were sexually assaulted, harassed or forcibly married to non-Christians.

At 31 on the list, Mexico registered its worst Christian persecution in the list’s 32-year history, driven by organized crime. The country hasn’t ranked as high since 2005.

“World Watch List researchers during the most recent reporting period noted a jump in the number of Christians killed and abducted because of their faith, as well as an increase in attacks on Christian homes and other property,” Open Doors wrote in an overview of noticeable trends. “It was, generally, a more violent year in Mexico.”

During elections in mid-2024 in Mexico, nationwide attacks left 37 candidates for various offices dead, and hundreds more injured, Open Doors said.

The full World Watch List is available for download here.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.)