2026 Watch List Reveals Biggest Increases In Christian Persecution Across The Globe

Christians in Syria saw the largest increase in persecution among any country in the world last year as regime change and terrorism threw the Islamic nation into chaos, according to the Christian organization Open Doors, which published its annual persecution watch list Wednesday morning.

The Open Doors 2026 World Watch List revealed that Syria jumped up to No. 6 in overall Christian persecution, after coming in at No. 18 in last year’s list. Syria is now only behind North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, and Eritrea.

Open Doors CEO Ryan Brown told The Daily Wire that the recent political turmoil in Syria is the main contributing factor to the increase in persecution.

“With the fall of the Assad regime and as HTS [Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham] came into power, it created a lot of vacuums of control and authority,” Brown said. “The rule of law is weak in a number of areas, and in that, there’s just been a number of extremists that have just stepped into those voids.”

Brown pointed to multiple recent Islamic terror attacks targeting Syrian Christians, such as the suicide bombing in June, when a terrorist opened fire on worshipers and then detonated a suicide vest, killing more than 20 Christians and wounding over 50 more. Christians in Syria are more likely to come under attack from Islamic terrorists who are fighting for control of certain areas in the unstable country, not from the government, which is now led by former HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa.

“The church is coming under attack especially in these areas where the government is not having a strong rule of law as part of this transition,” Brown added. “Traditionally, in some of these areas in Syria where the rule of law has not been strong, the tribalism becomes the ruling force and provides safety. Christian converts from Islam are typically rejected from these tribal infrastructures.”

It remains to be seen if al-Sharaa, a former terrorist leader, will tolerate Christians in Syria if he establishes a firm grip on the country. So far, the new Syrian leader has been actively seeking to take out Islamic terrorists that remain in Syria.

President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa at the White House as he seeks to broker peace in the Middle East. The meeting marked the first time a Syrian leader and former jihadist met with the President of the United States.

Brown said the 12-spot change in Syria’s ranking between 2025 and 2026 was the largest year-over-year move for any country on the persecution watch list in more than a decade.

Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, and Iran round out the top 10 of countries where Christians experience the most persecution, meaning that eight out of the top 10 countries on the 2026 World Watch List are majority Muslim nations.

Nigeria Was The ‘Epicenter’ Of Violence Against Christians In 2025

More Christians in Nigeria, which came in at No. 7 on the list, were killed for their faith than in any other country. Open Doors reported that 3,490 Nigerian Christians were killed last year, which was an increase from the estimated 3,100 killed in 2024. For comparison, 1,359 Christians are estimated to have been killed for their faith in all other countries combined in 2025.

Brown told The Daily Wire that Nigeria didn’t rank No. 1 on the persecution list because Open Doors considers multiple factors, not just violence, when ranking countries.

“The World Watch List looks at danger, but looks at a number of other factors as well. Nigeria would be the deadliest place to be a Christian, not necessarily the most difficult because there are places in the country where Christians are able to freely worship,” Brown said. “But Nigeria continues to be an epicenter of violence in parts of the country, in parts of the middle belt as well as in the northern parts of the country.”

Recent violence against Christians in Nigeria gained the attention of President Trump, who has pressured the Nigerian government to do more to protect Christians and threatened to take out terrorists in the country if they continue to target them.

Iran Increased Pressure On Christians During Internal Turmoil And Conflict With Israel And U.S.

Iran, which ranks No. 10 on the World Watch List, has ramped up its crackdown on Christians in the country as they are viewed as “enemies of the state” and “agents of the West,” Brown explained.

The Iranian regime has arrested numerous Christians in recent months as it seeks to keep control amid growing tensions. The regime believes that Christians are influenced by the West and, therefore, plotting the overthrow of the government, and recent events have likely made the regime’s crackdown on Christians even harsher. Iran was humiliated in 2025 in its war with Israel and then by the United States, when President Trump ordered the U.S. military to strike Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran is in the midst of massive demonstrations as protesters have taken to the streets, mainly over the regime’s failure to address an economic collapse. Trump has warned that he could take more action against Iran if it massacres protesters. One report indicates that the Iranian government has killed at least 12,000 demonstrators.

China Continues To Target Christianity

China dropped from No. 15 on the list in 2025 to No. 17 this year, but the communist country remains brutal toward Christians. In September, the Chinese government began to monitor the online activity of Christians, especially clergymen, more closely.

“This was in continuation to the churches they closed down the previous year — there’s been an increase in that — but now looking to clamp down on some of the online activity of Christians in the area, making it difficult for them to communicate or to worship,” Brown said.

The Daily Wire reported earlier this month that China arrested more prominent church leaders, detaining at least seven Christians affiliated with the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, a city in southwestern China.

Brown said that people in China also face persecution from their local communities when they convert to Christianity, adding that many converts lose out on job or school opportunities, while some get their water or electricity cut off.

See the full list, and read a detailed report on each country in this year’s list here.