More Christians were killed in Nigeria last year than any-where else in the world combined, a new report has found, placing the country at the centre of a growing global persecution crisis. Of the 4,849 Christians killed for their faith worldwide, 3,490 were in Nigeria, according to Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026.
Open Doors is a Netherlands-based international Christian mission that tracks global perse-cution and supports persecuted Christians worldwide. The orga-nization’s annual World Watch List ranks 50 countries by the severity of persecution faced by active Christians.
The new report also shows a global increase of 8 million Christians facing high levels of persecution and discrimination between October 2024 and September 2025, bringing the total to 388 million.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Henrietta Blyth, CEO at Open Doors UK & Ireland, said: “Nigeria is in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that represents a death trap for Christians,” while expre-ssing relief that people are finally talking about what’s going on in the country.
In recent months the situation in Nigeria has been back in the spotlight after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to go “guns a-blazing” into the country and subsequently launched strikes on militants linked to the Islamic State group in the northwest of the country.
While both the U.S. and Nigerian governments cooperated on the strikes, Trump has accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks, with some allies and campaign figures describing the situation as a “genocide.”
The Nigerian government is reluctant to address the religious aspect for fear of being designated a “country of particular concern,” which could “enable the Trump administration and other international governments to take measures including an embargo,” according to John Samuel, an expert on sub-Saharan Africa for Open Doors.
Pope Leo XIV addressed the Nigeria crisis in November 2025, acknowledging that “Christians and Muslims have been slaughtered” in the country. He told journalists at Castel Gandolfo that “many Christians have died” and called on the government to “promote authentic religious freedom.” The pope’s comments came after Trump designated Nigeria a country of particular concern for religious freedom violations.
