300 million Christians persecuted globally, report says

WASHINGTON (BP)—Religious nationalism, mass displacement, authoritarianism, surveillance technology and other trends combine to persecute 300 million Christians globally, International Christian Concern reported in its 2025 Global Persecution Index.

Examining 20 countries, the latest annual report identifies 20 persecution zones, spotlights underlying factors that make each region increasingly unstable, and details the growing persecution Christians are suffering at the hands of government, terrorist organizations and society.

Christian persecution intensified in 2024 in Nicaragua, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and regions throughout Africa’s Sahel region, ICC said in its report. ICC cited increased government hostility in Nicaragua, Hindu nationalism and anti-conversion laws in India, and terrorism and displacement in Africa.

Studying 20 countries in Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Southeast Asia, ICC highlighted persecution trends while showcasing the enduring church amid persecution, and calling on the global church to intervene on behalf of the persecuted.

“We show where life is challenging for the millions of Christians who face myriad forms of persecution—murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, attacks, discrimination, isolation, ostracization and more,” ICC said of its report.

“We examine corners of our world where believers can’t publicly identify as Christian or openly recite a Bible verse without severe punishment. We offer updates where extremist leaders and hateful groups actively target Christians and force the church underground.”

In Nicaragua, the national government has weaponized the Ministry of Interior to crack down on hundreds of churches, aid groups and other faith-based organizations, ICC said.

The report cited U.S. State Department data showing Nicaragua revoked the operating licenses of at least 315 faith-based nonprofit organizations in 2023, including 233 associated with evangelical groups, 38 linked to the Catholic church and 41 from other faith-based groups.

In India, extremism, blasphemy and anti-conversion laws, political agendas that restrict religious minorities, and baseless arrests and imprisonments are used to discriminate against Christians and other religious minorities.

Hindu nationalists Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are making progress in pushing for India to become an entirely Hindu nation, with the influence reaching to the prime minister. Christians comprised 2.3 percent of the population in India at the time of the 2011 census. Muslims, the largest religious minority, also are persecuted.

In Nigeria, the deadliest country for Christians, ICC cited terrorist groups Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, Fulani Militants and local extremists as those causing the most harm.

Nigeria’s blasphemy and anti-conversion laws, the use of Sharia law in Nigeria’s 12 northern states—although secular courts often overturn rulings—and identity-based politics along ethnic, political and economic lines tend to work against Christians, ICC said.

In the Sahel, civil war pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces has sustained discrimination and persecution that began decades ago against the minority Christian population, ICC said.

Additionally, despite Islamic State West Africa Province’s shared ideology with Boko Haram, the two are in a high-stakes territorial war in the Sahel. Churches, religious leaders and communities are often attacked and massacred, often for resources that are limited.

ICC cited the displacement of more than 8 million people from Sudan since the war began in April 2023, as well as the displacement of 3.3 million in 2024 across Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, based on United Nations numbers.