World Watch List
Pray for the Persecuted Church
Learn about the persecution that is happening in each of Top 50 countries around the world, then use the prayer points to pray for that country.
Why the Persecuted Church Needs Our Prayers
God has ordained prayer as the means through which things happen in the Kingdom of God.
Paul was keenly aware of this after the persecution that he and others faced in the Roman province of Asia (modern-day Turkey). That’s why he writes to the church at Corinth:
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
– 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
Our brothers and sisters around the world are under so much that they are despairing of life itself. They wonder if they can endure.
You can help them and God can deliver them through your prayers!
How to Pray for the Persecuted Church
Many believers want to pray for the persecuted church but they don’t know who to pray for or how to pray. Other Christians start praying for the persecuted church but either lose steam of simply forget.
We understand these challenges, so we have partnered with Open Doors USA to make it simple for you to sustainably pray for the persecuted church using their World Watch List!
What is the World Watch List?
The World Watch List is an annual report on the global persecution of Christians that ranks the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith published by Open Doors USA.
We have broken the World Watch List down into bite-sized pieces so that you can pray through the persecution profile of one of the top 50 countries each week.
What’s in each World Watch List email?
When you sign up to pray for the persecuted church with Pray1040, you will be sent one email per week over the next 50 weeks with a “persecution profile” of the Top 50 countries where Christian persecution is most severe.
Each email includes:
- a map of where the country is
- the country flag
- some quick facts about the country
- why the country is on the World Watch List
- where God is at work in the country
- prayer points for the country
How to Pray for the Persecuted Church
Many believers want to pray for the persecuted church but they don’t know who to pray for or how to pray. Other Christians start praying for the persecuted church but either lose steam of simply forget.
We understand these challenges, so we have partnered with Open Doors USA to make it simple for you to sustainably pray for the persecuted church using their World Watch List!
What countries are on the 2023 World Watch List?
Below is a list of the top 50 countries experiencing Christian persecution in 2023 that you will pray for when you sign up to pray for the persecuted church.
- North Korea
- Somalia
- Yemen
- Eritrea
- Libya
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Iran
- Afghanistan
- Sudan
- India
- Syria
- Saudi Arabia
- Myanmar
- Maldives
- China
- Mali
- Iraq
- Algeria
- Mauritania
- Uzbekistan
- Colombia
- Burkina Faso
- Central African Republic
- Vietnam
- Turkmenistan
- Cuba
- Niger
- Morocco
- Bangladesh
- Laos
- Mozambique
- Indonesia
- Qatar
- Egypt
- Tunisia
- Congo
- Mexico
- Ethiopia
- Bhutan
- Turkey
- Comoros
- Malaysia
- Tajikistan
- Cameroon
- Brunei
- Oman
- Kazakhstan
- Jordan
- Nicaragua
2023 World Watch List Map
Below is a map of the rankings of the 2023 World Watch List by Open Doors USA.
Thought-Provoking Questions
Why is Eritrea #4 when it is almost 50% Christian?
How is Syria #12? It sounds pretty bad there, so what’s going on in the 11 countries above it?
Why did Burkina Faso jump 25 spots from #48 to #23? (and where is it again?)
What’s going on in the four countries outside of the 10/40 Window that “earns” them a spot on the list?
How are the countries ranked?
Countries are ranked by the severity of persecution of Christians, calculated by analyzing the level of violent persecution plus the pressure experienced in five spheres of life. Click the following link to learn more about the World Watch List Methodology.
World Watch List
Pray for the Persecuted Church
Learn about the persecution that is happening in each of Top 50 countries around the world, then use the prayer points to pray for that country.