A map of the countries where Christians face the most persecution

North Korea is the most oppressive place in the world to live as a Christian.

The Open Doors World Watch List highlights the top 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian, and the 2016 edition cites Kim Jong-un's "dictatorial paranoia" as the reason that the country tops the rankings.

Open Doors say:

Christians face arrest, torture, imprisonment and death for daring to believe there is a higher authority than the nation's leader, Kim Jong-un.

The list reports that in 2015, persecution grew most rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, while in the Middle East, Isis violence increased the exodus of the Christian population from the region.

The index measures the degrees of freedom that Christians have to express their faith in six spheres - private, family, community, national and church life, while also measuring levels of violence.

The full rankings of the levels of persecution are as follows:

Extreme

1. North Korea
2. Iraq
3. Eritrea
4. Afghanistan
5. Syria
6. Pakistan
7. Somalia
8. Sudan
9. Iran

Very high

1. Libya
2. Yemen
3. Nigeria
4. Maldives
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Uzbekistan
7. Kenya
8. India
9. Ethiopia
10. Turkmenistan
11. Vietnam
12. Qatar
13. Egypt
14. Myanmar
15. Palestinian Territories
16. Brunei

High

1. Central African Republic
2. Jordan
3. Djibouti
4. Laos
5. Malaysia
6. Tajikistan
7. Tunisia
8. China
9. Azerbaijan
10. Bangladesh
11. Tanzania
12. Algeria
13. Bhutan
14. Comoros
15. Mexico
16. Kuwait
17. Kazakhstan
18. Indonesia
19. Mali
20. Turkey
21. Colombia
22. United Arab Emirates
23. Bahrain
24. Niger
25. Oman

HT Tim Montgomerie

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