In 2022, 5,621 Christian around the world were “killed for faith related reasons.” Another 4,542 Christians were illegally detained or arrested, and 2,110 churches were attacked, many destroyed. Overall, the global persecution of Christians remains higher than ever, with 360 million believers suffering high levels of discrimination and violence.
These are among some of the findings of the World Watch List 2023, recently published by the international humanitarian organization, Open Doors. Each year, the World Watch List ranks the top 50 nations where Christians are most persecuted for their faith by using data from approximately 4,000 field workers and external experts to analyze the persecution worldwide.
