World
Watch List

WORLD
WATCH
LIST FAQs

• How is the World Watch list put together?

  The first World Watch List was produced in January 1993. Countries’ overall persecution scores are an amalgamation of six different scores. This year’s list covers the period 1 Oct 2021 – 30 Sept 2022.

  Released at the beginning of each year, the list uses extensive research, data from Open Doors field workers, their in-country networks, external experts and persecution analysts to quantify and analyse persecution worldwide. Each edition is certified by the International Institute for Religious Freedom.

  Read: 30 Years Of The World Watch List

• What are the trends from the latest report?

  Some of the findings from the latest report include:

  • North Korea (1) returns to number one, with its highest levels of persecution ever. The rise follows a new wave of violence under its new ‘Anti-reactionary thought law’.
  • Over the 30 years of the Open Doors World Watch List reporting, the global phenomenon of Christian persecution has grown alarmingly.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa faces a vast humanitarian catastrophe, as a wave of religiously motivated violence nurtured in Nigeria (7) has swept across the region, targeting Christian populations at an alarming rate in countries like Burkina Faso (23), Cameroon (45), Mali (17) and Niger (28).
  • China has clamped down further on Christians, introducing sweeping new rules on churches’ use of the internet.

  Find out more

• What happened to Afghanistan?

  Afghanistan (9) has fallen from No. 1 in 2022 to No. 9 in this year’s list. However, the sharp drop offers little good news.

  After the brutal takeover in 2021, many Christians were executed, as the Taliban went door-to-door to root out believers. Many Christians went deep into hiding or fled overseas.

  Find out more

• How can we pray?

  Please stand with us in prayer. As Open Doors founder, Brother Andrew, says: “Our prayers can go where we cannot… there are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.” Ephesians 6.18 reminds us, to ‘keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.’

  Each quarter we release a prayer guide to help you in praying for the Top 50 countries on the World Watch list. Prayer points have come from our partners on the field and the families and communities they serve. Whether you pray alone or with your bible study or group, we know your prayers are powerful and effective.

  Sign up to get a Prayer Guide delivered every quarter.

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• How can my church get involved?

  We love when churches get involved in learning about the persecuted church. We have resources for you or your pastor to share in church and information to help you pray and support your suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.

  Find out more

• How can I help?

  We need to stand with our suffering brothers and sisters. Here’s three ways to help:

  • Pray: One Afghan believer said, ‘it’s only because of you, because of your prayers that we are still here. If it had not been for your prayers, we would be long gone.
  • Give: The needs of the persecuted church are constant. Emergency relief and trauma counselling after an attack; Support to rebuild churches and homes; bibles and Christian resources to strengthen believer’s faith.
  • Share: One of the reasons the World Watch List was created was to grow a greater awareness of the depth and breadth of persecution against Christian. Help share the stories of the persecuted church through your church, small group and online.