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The 2026 Open Doors watchlist reveals worsening global persecution, with North Korea again leading and Syria surging amid instability, extremism and growing hostility toward Christians.

Open Doors just released its 2026 watchlist.

Topping the list is Christ-hating Kim Jong-Un’s Communist North Korea.

North Korea remains the world’s worst persecutor of Christians.

Islamist Somalia and Sudan made the top five, with Islamist hotbeds Eritrea, Nigeria and Pakistan still ranking as some of the worst in the bunch.

Out of 50 countries, there were some slight changes.

Afghanistan and Libya both moved down the list.

Iran also shifted from 9 to number 10.

That change is because Syria jumped a massive 12 points, landing the country at number 6 on the Christian persecution hit parade.

Open Doors rated the situation there as extreme.

Syria’s Sharp Rise After Assad

Explaining the massive jump, they said, “Syria has grown more dire for Christians over the past year.”

“Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the country has been mostly controlled by forces led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).”

“This is an Islamic extremist group with roots in Al Qaeda,” an Open Doors fact sheet explained.

Despite advances in brokering an understanding between HTS and “representatives of Syria’s traditional Christian communities”, Open Doors said, “it is too soon to know what will come of the new leadership.”

This is due to “widespread instability in the country, which has also affected minority Shia offshoot groups, the Druze and Alawites.”

Open Doors added that “Christians have been caught in the crossfire of regime change.”

“Syria is now at its most dangerous since the Islamic State group occupied significant swaths of its territory,” Open Doors added.

A “resurgent” Islamic State adds to the instability. IS continues to run military operations in the area.

Recalling the June suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church in Dweila, which killed 22, they said, Islamic terrorist attacks like this “reinforced a sense of insecurity.”

“Despite the historic Christian presence in Damascus and Aleppo, there is also growing hostility from conservative Muslim communities and extremist groups in the cities.

“Conversion to Christianity from Islam can lead to serious violence or expulsion.”

For example, a local Syrian partner told Open Doors,

“We thought getting rid of the previous regime would give us some sense of freedom, yet it seems there are still people who only believe in killing.”

The implementation of Islamic law and a centralisation of power, Open Doors concluded, mean “insufficient protections” and an uncertain future for Syria’s Christians.

India’s Rising Hindu Nationalism

2026’s “hate crimes don’t apply to beating up Christians” top 20 includes India, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Mali, Burkina Faso, China, Iraq, Maldives, and Algeria.

At number 12, India’s Hindu Nationalists beat the Chinese Communist Party by five slots.

India’s 73 million Christians, Open Doors said, “continue to face intense pockets of persecution.”

“To be Indian is to be Hindu, and that leaves no place for Christianity.”

“The result is systemic discrimination and violence, particularly against converts.”  (See The Daily Declaration’s reports on that here and here).

“Evangelism is extremely risky,” the report explained.

Christian outreach and converts to Christianity face the brunt of Hindu hate.

Vague, easy-to-weaponise anti-conversion laws add to the ease with which social media can be used to amplify false accusations against Christians.

These reports can lead to mob violence.

India’s position on the persecution poll is also explained by some states pushing to make anti-conversion laws stricter.

China’s Surveillance Crackdown

The CCP didn’t get off scot-free.

Ranked 17, the Communists ban under-18s from attending even state-approved “churches”.

To add, the bureaucracy polices sermons to “ensure that theological content aligns with Communist ideology.”

Consequently, “illegal” underground or house churches make up the majority of persecution cases.

Christians are monitored. This can result in “raids, fines, arrests, imprisonments and the confiscation of materials.”

Open Doors said the increased offer of “incentives to denounce such ‘illegal’ activities” puts Chinese Christians at higher risk of harassment or worse.

Because the Communists turned China into a surveillance state, “believers must be careful what they share online, even among friends in private chats.”

Explaining the ranking, Open Doors asserted,

“The crackdown on Christians in China continues, and the impact of laws banning the involvement of children in church activities is increasingly coming to the fore.”

Communists keeping kids from Christ, Open Doors concluded, raises “concerns about what this means for the future of the church in China.”

Overall, globally, 1 in 7 Christians face persecution.

Over “315 million Christians face very high or extreme persecution.”

Asia hits the hardest, where 2 in 5 Christians face hate for their faith.

This contrasts slightly with Africa, where every 1 in 5 Christians face being reviled for Christ’s sake. (Matthew 5:10-11)