More than 365 million Christians worldwide face severe persecution because of their faith. A phenomenon that affects one in every seven Christians, increasing to one in every five in Africa and two out of every five in Asia. This is highlighted by data from the "World Watch List 2024" study, which was presented to the Chamber of Deputies. It becomes apparent that the period spanning from October 2022 to September 2023 witnessed the most severe degree of persecution recorded since the inception of the World Watch List 31 years ago. This continues a ten-year upward trend in persecution levels. North Korea has been ranked first since 2002, yet it is impossible to practice Christianity there. This is followed by Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, and Yemen. According to the research, in certain countries, "the Christian faith must be lived in secret and, if discovered, Christians - especially those who have converted - risk death". Nigeria comes in sixth place, with the most Christians killed by jihadist violence. That is 4,118 out of a total of 4,998 in the world; the Democratic Republic of Congo ranks second with 261. This is one of the few absolute numbers lower than previous year, when 5,621 Christians were slaughtered. According to the dossier, the decline is attributable to the months preceding the Nigerian elections, when the massacres ceased and then resumed after the vote. The African country has also experienced the biggest number of Christian kidnappings, 3,300 out of 3,906 worldwide, but in general, Islamist organizations have made life particularly tough throughout the Sahel region. India, which ranks eleventh in the list, has the greatest number of Christians arrested.
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