North Korea has again topped Open Door’s World Watchlist of the 50 countries with the worst record and levels of Christian persecution. International Christian Concern (ICC) has regularly highlighted the atrocities and huge suffering that North Korean Christians face under Kim Jong Un’s tyrannical regime. ICC included the hermit kingdom in its comprehensive 2023 annual Persecutors of the Year report.
Several other Southeast Asian countries featured in Open Door’s list include:
North Korea (ranked # 1)
Myanmar (17)
China (19)
Laos (21)
Vietnam (35)
Indonesia (42)
Brunei (44)
Malaysia (49)
The Watchlist estimates that more than 365 million Christians are persecuted around the globe, an increase of five million since last year. The findings also highlighted that two in every five Christians being persecuted are from Asia, and the most violent and murderous persecution of Christians is in Africa. Additionally, there was a 70 percent increase in church closures in 2023, mostly in China and India.