Nigeria, China And Mexico Among Top 5 Persecutors Of Christians
Nigeria, Rwanda, China, Mozambique and Mexico were the most dangerous countries for Christians from 2023-2025 in five distinct categories of persecution, Global Christian Relief (GCR) said in its second annual Red List.
Nigeria leads in the category of killings, with 590 documented and verified killings from the study period of November 2023 — October 2025, GCR said, based on a total number of 1,972 killing in the top five countries in the category. Following are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 447 killings, Ethiopia with 177 killings, Russia with 167 killings, and Mozambique with 94.
President Donald Trump added Nigeria to the U.S. State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern in 2025, guilty of egregious and unchecked religious persecution, based on the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act. In December, the U.S. launched at least 16 Tomahawk missiles on targets in northwest Nigeria, but the impact has not been disclosed.
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Violence and intimidation against churches, arrests and detentions, forced displacement and assaults or abductions complete the categories studied, with five top countries named in each category. Additionally, the 2026 Red List overlaps 2024 data included in the 2025 Red List, and some of the categories of persecution overlap within each report, GCR said in releasing the data Jan. 8.
“Persecution today does not always arrive in obvious or dramatic ways,” GCR President and CEO Brian Orme said in describing the categories. “Often it unfolds quietly — through pressure that restricts worship, through laws that narrow religious space, or through systems that steadily erode the ability of Christians to live openly as followers of Jesus.
“In other cases, persecution is unmistakably violent, displacing communities and leaving visible destruction in its wake. These pressures repeat, overlap, and deepen over time.”
Numbers cited in the 2026 Red List, drawn from the Violent Incidents Database sponsored by the International Institute for Religious Freedom, differ from numbers released by other watchdog groups that use additional data points.
For instance, Open Doors, the watchdog group that releases the annual World Watch List, cited 3,100 Christians killed in Nigeria in the single reporting year ending in January 2025, among 4,476 Christians killed worldwide.
Graphic courtesy of Global Christian Relief
Rwanda leads the top five countries in the category of violence and intimidation against churches, with GCR citing 7,700 such incidents in the country in the two-year reporting period. Restrictive regulations in the country led to thousands of church closures, GCR said.
GCR counted 14,367 incidents of violence and intimidation in the top five countries in the category. Joining Rwanda in the category are Mozambique with 1,382; Myanmar with 1,042; Nicaragua with 1,023, and Ukraine with 678.
“In Mozambique and Myanmar, armed groups and the military have destroyed churches and entire Christian villages. In Nicaragua, even a 95 percent Christian population has not shielded believers from state repression,” GCR said in its report. “And in Ukraine, the destruction of churches amid war has left many communities without a place to worship. Though the contexts vary widely, each case illustrates how the loss of religious buildings – whether through policy, insurgency, or conflict — strikes at the heart of Christian communal life.”
China tops the category of arrests and detentions, with 709 incidents tabulated, followed by Russia with 323, Iran with 149, Vietnam with 116 and Nicaragua with 114, for a total of 2,183.
China’s registration requirements for churches, surveillance, and mandatory alignment with state ideology were weaponized to arrest and harass Christians and others.
“The countries with the highest levels of arrests and sentencing of Christians during the reporting period reflect different political and social contexts, yet they share a common pattern: Governments use legal and administrative tools to restrict Christian activity outside state-approved boundaries,” GCR said, citing China’s registration requirement for churches, surveillance and mandatory alignment with state ideology.
At least 21,101 Christians were displaced in the two-year period, led by Mozambique with 13,298; Myanmar with 2,285; Nigeria with 2,001; India with 1,134, and Mexico with 875, driven variously by insurgency, civil conflict, communal violence and criminal governance.
“Although the mechanisms differ across contexts, these cases share a common reality” GCR said. “Christians are displaced because their presence, identity, or community role makes them vulnerable amid broader patterns of violence and insecurity.”
In the final category of assaults or abductions, where the report includes 3,018 incidents, Mexico tops the list with 376 incidents. Following are Nigeria with 354, India with 288, Ethiopia with 183, and Myanmar with 161.
“The countries with the highest levels of abductions, sexual assaults, forced marriages, and other forms of physical abuse against Christians reflect a wide range of insecurity drivers, including organized crime, communal violence, civil conflict, and authoritarian repression,” GCR said. “Although the contexts differ, these cases share a common pattern: Christians become vulnerable because of their identity, community role, or the social environments in which they live.”
The Red List is available here and the Violent Incidents Database available here.
This article has been republished with permission from Baptist Press.
Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.