Syria’s violence surged after Assad government collapse
Syria has vaulted back into the World Watch List top 10 for the first time since 2017, recording one of the largest single-year score increases in the list’s history following the December 2024 fall of the Assad regime and the takeover by jihadist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Open Doors US CEO Ryan Brown said: “When the Assad regime fell in December 2024, there was cautious optimism that Syria’s Christians might find respite under new leadership of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. Instead, we have witnessed a devastating reversal – a suicide bomber targeting worshippers, churches desecrated, and believers forced into hiding.
“After years of relative calm following ISIS’s territorial defeat, Syria has surged back into our top 10, with violence against Christians reaching elevated levels. The June attack in Damascus that killed 22 Christians shattered any illusion of safety. This stark reality demands urgent attention: when state protection collapses and extremist ideology fills the void, religious minorities pay the price. The world cannot look away again.”
Syria’s historic surge
Syria’s score jumped 12 points to reach 90 – its highest ever – rising from 18th place to 6th on the 2026 World Watch List. The increase ranks among the largest single-year jumps recorded under the methodology in place since 2014.
The primary driver was a 9-point surge in the violence score, which rose from 7.0 to 16.1 (maximum possible: 16.7). World Watch Research verified at least 27 Syrian Christians were killed for their faith during the reporting period, compared to zero the previous year. A June 2025 suicide attack at Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus killed 22 Christians and wounded 63 others.
Violence extended beyond killings. In Hama, unidentified gunmen attacked the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, destroying church property and religious symbols and desecrating graves in a nearby Christian cemetery. Churches faced attacks and Christian schools were shut down, and attacks on church buildings increased dramatically.
“The attack in Damascus prompted many Christians to stop attending church,” researchers noted. Anxiety about further attacks and the rise of Islamic radicalism has driven believers to hide Christian symbols and avoid public displays of faith.
Intensifying pressure beyond violence
Syria’s interim constitution, established in March 2025, centralizes power in the presidency and establishes Islamic jurisprudence as the main source of legislation. Education is being reformed according to Islamic ideology, eliminating pre-Islamic history and incorporating Quranic interpretations describing Christians as “those who are damned and have gone astray.”
Loudspeaker-equipped vehicles now roam Christian neighbourhoods of Damascus, exhorting residents to convert to Islam. Churches have been posted with leaflets demanding conversion or payment of jizya – a tax on non-Muslims to purchase their safety.
Syria’s scores measuring persecution in private life, family life, and national life reached their highest levels ever, pushing the total score to a record high.
Dwindling Christian population
Open Doors estimates 300,000 Christians remain in Syria today – hundreds of thousands fewer than before the Islamic State group first surged across the region in 2013. Their dwindling numbers leave them more exposed, particularly as native Christian families lack tribal affiliations that provide protection in areas where state security is absent.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s persistent crisis
While Syria’s situation is compelling, the scale of persecution across sub-Saharan Africa remains staggering. The 14 sub-Saharan countries on the World Watch List comprise more than 721 million people – nearly half of them Christian. One in every eight Christians on earth lives in these 14 countries.
Violence scores across the region have surged dramatically. Ten years ago, the 12 sub-Saharan countries then on the list had a combined violence score representing 49 percent of maximum possible. In 2026, the 14 countries’ combined violence score represents 88 percent of maximum.
Only three countries on the full list scored the maximum 16.7 for violence in 2026 – all of them sub-Saharan: Sudan, Nigeria, and Mali.
Trump post on persecution in Nigeria
US President Donald Trump’s November 2025 statement of outrage about the substantial number of Nigerian Christians killed each year because of their faith drew global interest with media clamouring to understand persecution dynamics in the country.
Nigeria remains the global epicentre of deadly violence against Christians. Of 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during the reporting period, 3,490 were Nigerian – an increase from 3,100 the previous year. In one June 2025 incident, Muslim Fulani militants attacked the Christian farming community of Yelwata in Benue state for four hours, shooting or burning to death 258 people, mostly women and children.
The conflict in Nigeria is complex, but it cannot detract from intent. Recorded reports from victims quote their Fulani militant attackers saying: “We will destroy all Christians.” Christians kidnapped report their Boko Haram captors saying: If you were Muslim, you would not be tortured like this.”
Sudan’s civil war continued to drive Christians into displacement, with 9.6 million Sudanese now internally displaced. The country rose to 4th place as both warring factions – the Army and Rapid Support Forces – targeted Christians while attempting to establish Islamic credentials.
The pattern persists across the region: weak governments create vacuums filled by Islamic militants operating with impunity in parts of Burkina Faso, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, Niger and Mozambique.
Driven to Isolation
The 2026 World Watch List reveals a troubling global pattern beyond physical violence: churches being driven underground by surveillance and heavy regulation.
Algeria’s situation illustrates the trend. While its total score remained at 77 points, the composition shifted dramatically. All Protestant churches have been forced to close, driving the violence score down but pushing Christians into isolation. Meanwhile, scores measuring pressure in community life and national life increased. Authorities shut down a Christian Facebook group with more than 50,000 followers and blocked church activities. More than 75 percent of Algerian Christians have lost connection to fellowship.
Similar dynamics play out in China, where a record score of 79 points was driven entirely by increased pressure in national life – not violence. September 2025 regulations on religious clergy’s online behaviour prohibit Bible apps, fundraising, outreach to youth, and require religious leaders to support the Communist Party. Independent house churches that once met in large commercial gatherings have splintered into covert groups of 10-20 people in private homes.
The pattern extends to Tunisia, Mauritania, and Vietnam, where tighter bureaucratic control, surveillance, and vague regulations are systematically isolating Christians from fellowship.
Some Positive Developments
Bangladesh experienced relative calm following August 2024’s political upheaval, with its violence score dropping 20 percent. Interim government leader Muhammad Yunus has made public statements about religious freedom’s importance, though upcoming elections may test this commitment.
In Malaysia, a court ordered the government to reopen investigation into Pastor Raymond Koh’s 2017 kidnapping, ruling that police officials were involved and ordering compensation equivalent to $7.4 million. Sri Lanka dropped 4 points and four places to rank 65th, with improvements in government treatment of Christians reducing discriminatory practices and improving access to justice.
About Open Doors and the World Watch List
Open Doors originated in 1955, when a young Dutchman started smuggling Bibles to the persecuted Christians in Communist Europe. He became known as Brother Andrew, and his work led to more than six decades of support for the persecuted church
Today, Open Doors works in more than 70 countries, supplying Bibles, training church leaders, providing practical support and emergency relief, and supporting Christians who suffer persecution and discrimination for their faith. The national bases in 25 countries work to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilizing prayer, support, and action among Christians. More: how we help.
Published by Open Doors, The World Watch List is an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. The methodology measures violence against Christians and pressure across six spheres of life: private life, family life, community life, national life, church life, and violence. Rankings are based on verified reports collected during a 12-month research period ending September 30, 2025.
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