Other countries listed on the WWL’s top 10, from No. 4 to 10, include: Laos, Iran, Maldives, Somalia, Bhutan, China and Afghanistan. This year Somalia and Afghanistan make their first appearance on the list. Dropping out of the top 10 are Turkmenistan (No. 12) and Myanmar (No. 17).
Another change to note was Somalia, which moved up four places to seventh in the rankings primarily because "Christian converts from Islam are paying a high price for their new faith, especially in rural parts of this most lawless country in the world."
On the positive side, Christians in Sudan, ranked No. 19, are hopeful that a new peace accord will lead to greater access to goods and services previously denied. Under the latest accord, the mainly Christian and animist south will remain autonomous for six years. It is estimated that more than two million people have died in Sudan during 21 years of civil war.
No. 11-25 on the World Watch List are: Yemen, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Comoros, Uzbekistan, Eritrea, Myanmar (Burma), Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Brunei and Nigeria (north).
Rounding out the list are Nos. 26-50: Cuba, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Mexico (Chiapas), Tunisia, Qatar, India, Nepal, Colombia (conflict areas), Indonesia, Algeria, Turkey, Mauritania, Kuwait, Belarus, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya (northeast), Ethiopia and Bahrain.
According to Open Doors, the ranking of each country depends on the total points assigned to each country based how each question on the questionnaire is answered.
The questions, each assigned a point value, differentiate between the legal, official status of Christians and the actual situation of individual Christians. Attention is paid to the role of the church in society and to factors that may obstruct the freedom of religion in a country.
In the cases where information is unconfirmed or incomplete, a "variation" factor is weighed into the final total, thus some countries may be ranked lower on the list because complete information is not available.
The list is based on evaluation and testimonies obtained by Open Doors’ indigenous contacts, field workers and from members of the Persecuted Church.
Kenneth Chan
Ecumenical Press
