Christian Persecution Surges in Sub-Saharan Africa and Beyond
Nigeria was responsible for three of every four murders of Christians last year, the Open Doors’ World Watch List for 2025 found. The report underscores the increasing violence in sub-Saharan Africa, home to 14 of the top 50 countries worldwide where verified deaths could reasonably be linked to the victims’ Christian faith.
“The latest figures should leave us in no doubt: there is a clear religious element to this horrific violence,” Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors U.K., told Fox News Digital in an interview. “For many thousands of Christians, this will come as no surprise. Those who witnessed their families being killed and their homes razed to the ground by Islamist Fulani militants report being told by their attackers that ‘we will destroy all Christians.’”
Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s minister of Information and national orientation, responded to the report.
“Nigeria is a nation of believers,” he said. “We are proud to be home to one of Africa’s largest Christian populations. But we are also a nation under attack by thugs. We ask our partners to see the real fight: it’s not neighbor against neighbor; it’s all of us against the terrorists.”
Elsewhere in the world, North Korea remains at the top of the list for having the world’s worst persecution of Christians, “If Christians are discovered, they and their families are deported to labor camps or executed,” the report said.
A huge spike in reported violence against Christians in Syria has followed the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s presidency in late 2024 and has led the country to jump to number six on the list. China is number 17, with churches driven underground by surveillance and heavy regulation.
The reporting period ended some two months before President Trump ordered U.S. forces to bomb Muslim militants in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day to try to stop the killing of Christians.
“The U.S. airstrikes (against Jihadi groups in Nigeria) have thrown many of the militant groups in the area into a state of panic,” said Jo Newhouse of Open Doors Sub-Saharan Africa. “They have been scattering and attacking civilians as they come across soft targets, hoping that they can rebuild their resources through looting and kidnapping. Many Christians across the northern states are in a state of flux, unable to find any safety or stability. They bear the scars of living under the perpetual risk of death, destruction and displacement.”
–Lee Hartman
