Report on persecution of Christians finds most severe problems in Africa
Governments or terrorists said to fatally target believers in at least 13 countries

Christianity has experienced rapid growth in recent years in Africa, with many proselytizing churches reporting record increases in numbers. Today, Africa has more people who identify themselves as Christians than any other continent.
But that growth has come at a steep price: Parts of Africa, particularly several countries in the sub-Saharan northwestern part of the country, have become among the most dangerous places in the world for Christians to live as they have become the victims of terrorism, severe political repression and other types of persecution.
Details of such persecution are among the findings included in the 2025 Global Persecution Index published by International Christian Concern, a U.S.-based nondenominational organization that works against persecution of Christians worldwide. It is a fairly small organization with about 100 full-time staffers; although it calls for religious freedom for all faiths, its focus is on providing support for a wide spectrum of Christians. It provides humanitarian support, assists with church ministries and is involved in educating the general public as well as religious and political leaders about the nature of persecution.
The 116-page report highlights two dozen countries where ICC sees the most severe instances of persecution. In 13 of those countries, ICC says, “Christians are regularly killed or tortured for their faith”:
The Sahel, a loosely defined region that includes Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Chad: In this area, the report says, “Terrorists are increasing taking the place of failed governments and targeting Christians.” Among the incidents cited was the killing of 15 Catholics at a church in Burkina Faso in February. The report said many of the problems are related to extreme poverty and civil unrest.
Nigeria: Moderate Muslims as well as Christians face severe challenges in this country, where the Boko Haram and other groups violently seek to enforce forms of radical Islam. In one incident, militants went door to door in a Christian community to kill 18 people.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Various Islamist groups, some of them associated with the Islamic State, have targeted the majority-Christian population. Extreme poverty is one of the facts that is strengthening the resolve of extremists.
Eritrea: Much of the persecution comes from the government, which violently suppresses political dissent. Leaders of various Christian groups as well as Sunni Muslims are among those being held as political prisoners.
Somalia: Both the government and the powerful al-Shabab terror group, which runs a parallel legal system in parts of the country, seek to enforce their versions of Islam and are hostile to other religions.
Afghanistan: The report says that since this nation fell to the Taliban in 2021, it has taken a turn for the worse for worse for Christians as well as women and children.
North Korea: In one of the world’s most total dictatorships, the report says, “Christians langish in prisons or labor camps, where they are tortured, raped and killed.”
Pakistan: Christians make up 1.3 percent of Pakistanis, but, according to the report, they disproportionately have the worst jobs, such as cleaning sewers by hand. They also face threats from anti-blasphemy laws that target minority religions.
Other countries listed in the report for having less severe types of persecution were Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Russia, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Nicaragua and Indonesia.
The only Western Hemisphere country among those is Nicaragua, where, the report says, President Daniel Ortega “has led the country down a path of increasing authoritarianism and animosity toward the Christian church, both Catholic and evangelical.”
Overall, the report sees terrorism and rising authoritarianism as two of the biggest problems behind persecution of Christians.
Regarding terrorism, the report noted:
Today, nearly half of global deaths to terrorism happen in Africa, driven by affiliates of global terror groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida and local groups like Somalia’s al-Shabab and Nigeria’s Boko Haram. While the groups do sometimes fight each other for territory, their combined attacks on Christian communities are consistent and devastating.
Regarding authoritarianism:
Around the world, authoritarian regimes are growing in their conviction that the free exercise of religion is a mortal enemy to their grip on power. From China, which has refined and exported this belief around the world, to Nicaragua, where the Catholic church is viewed as a political enemy of the state, dictators everywhere appear to be increasing their focus on controlling religion or eliminating Christianity altogether.