The International Institute for Religious Freedom recommends the reading and use of the World Watch List 2024 (WWL) as a reliable source for researchers and scholars. The World Watch Research produces the WWL, the research department of Open Doors International, whose mission is to serve persecuted Christians around the world by providing vital support, delivering resources, and providing training.
The World Watch Research studies the reality of persecuted Christians around the world and launches an annual ranking of 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. The newest edition of the report covers the period between 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023.
The WWL 2024 Full Country dossiers provide in-depth information on the situation of Christians in the 78 countries listed. Among the top countries with an extreme degree of persecution are North Korea (96 points), Somalia (93 points), Libya (91 points), Eritrea (89 points), Yemen (89 points), Nigeria (88 points), Pakistan (87 points), Sudan (87 points), Iran (86 points) and Afghanistan (84 points).
“The WWL stands out as one of the most reliable sources for monitoring the religious freedom of Christians, consistently confirmed through annual audits conducted by the IIRF. We urge our academic partners to review the WWL 2024 report, grasp the applied methodology, and employ it as a tool in the defense of religious freedom worldwide.” – Dr Dennis P. Petri, IIRF International Director.
Since 2014, the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) has systematically reviewed the annual issues of the World Watch List of Open Doors International. The audit process is conducted by a team of scholars with active expertise in religious freedom in the countries and regions they audited. In each audit, these scholars take a thorough look at the process of data gathering, evaluation and scoring of the World Watch List. You can read here the IIRF public statement about the last edition of the WWL 2024.
The World Watch List is produced by applying the WWL methodology, created by the World Watch Research to ensure the reliability of its products. More information can be found on its Open Doors Analytical website. It has a compilation of the main documents, a section with the complete dossiers of all the countries mentioned in the WWL 2024. The password for access to these documents is freedom.