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The isolated communist nation of North Korea remains atop the Open Doors “World Watch List” (WWL) of countries where Christians are persecuted. The annual list ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith.

Saudi Arabia retains the second spot on the list, followed by Laos, the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and Iran. Other countries listed in the WWL’s top ten include: Turkmenistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma) and China. Myanmar and China are newcomers to the top ten; Myanmar was ranked 13th last year and China 11th. Number 12 Pakistan (sixth last year) and number 11 Somalia (ninth last year) fell out of the top ten.

Iran climbed five places compared to the 2003 list, rising from number ten to five. This change is primarily due to a considerable increase in the number of Christians being arrested and held without trial for their religious beliefs during the past year. In December many Christians of Muslim background were also physically harmed in connection with their new-found faith.

For years, little news about the church emerged from Kim Il Sung’s harsh North Korean regime, which is now ruled by his son, Kim Jong Il. In recent years, however, a flood of information has come from North Korean refugees fleeing to China. They report that the church has not only survived, it has grown. To visibly practice the Christian faith in North Korea today can still result in imprisonment and death. North Korea is ranked atop the World Watch List for the third straight year.

“North Korea is the most repressed and isolated nation in the world,” said Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA. “It certainly deserves its hall of shame ranking on the World Watch List.

“Tens of thousands of Christians are among 200,000 prisoners held in politico-labor camps. Yet we hear reports of how the church in North Korea continues to grow.”

The desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as the guardian of Islam, requires all its citizens to be Muslims. Consequences can be severe for a Saudi to convert to another religion. Even foreign Christian guest workers have been imprisoned and deported for quietly practicing their faith, despite government assurances that foreigners can worship privately.

The Lao government continues to pressure Christians. Many were arrested and later released, while several churches were closed in 2003.

Numbers 11-25 on the World Watch List are as follows: Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Comoros, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Eritrea, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Nigeria (northern), Libya, Morocco, Cuba and Brunei.

Rounding out the list at numbers 26-50 are the following countries: Colombia (conflict areas), Qatar, Tunisia, Russian Federation (Muslim republics of Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkarya, Dagestan and Tatar-stan), Mexico (Chiapas), Tajikistan, Iraq, India, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Indonesia, Algeria, Nepal, Turkey, Mauritania, United Arab Emirates, Kurdistan, Oman, Kuwait, Belarus, Jordan, Bangladesh, Syria, Bahrain and Malaysia.

The status of religious freedom deteriorated in Eritrea, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. In Eritrea, the government began actively applying a law which prohibits the practice of “new religion,” and hundreds of evangelical Christians have been imprisoned. In India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, the freedom to evangelize and change religions is coming under fire. Anti-conversion legislation has already been implemented in several states in India, and attempts are being made to introduce it in Sri Lanka.

The World Watch List is based on evaluations and testimonies obtained by Open Doors’ indigenous contacts, field workers and from members of the Persecuted Church.