Most DANGEROUS places in world to be a Christian

More than 7,000 Christians were murdered because of their faith in the last year with millions punished for their beliefs. 

North Korea remains the worst place to be a Christian while Iraq has replaced Somalia as the second most dangerous place to be a Christian. 

Eritrea, now nicknamed the ‘North Korea of Africa' due to high levels of dictatorial paranoia, follows at number three.

Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan are the next most difficult places for Christians.

India, the second most populous country in the world, has seen persecution levels rise dramatically for the third year running, rising to number 17 from a ranking of 31 in 2013.

Christian charity Open Doors, which complied the list, said extreme Islamic fundamentalism is rising most sharply in sub-Saharan Africa, where more people are killed for their Christian faith than anywhere else in the world.

Lisa Pearce, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, said: "The persecution of Christians is getting worse, in every region in which we work - and it's getting worse fast.

"In many parts of the world, despite the pressure and the often terrible cost, the church continues to grow.

"There is always hope, and yet we are in unmarked territory - the pace and scale of persecution of Christians is unprecedented and growing fast."

In North Korea it's estimated 70,000 Christians are currently in prison or labour camps because of their faith- which is illegal under Kim Jong-un's regime. 

Christians are forced to worship in secret and risk torture and death to do so. 

Iraq has been named the second most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian where the church is on the brink of being wiped out. 

GETTY/ EXPRESS

Christians have been increasingly persecuted by Islamic extremists

The Christian population or Iraq has been decimated from two million in 2003 to less than 200,000 today. 

A petition with more than 400,000 signatures has been submitted to the UN calling for the Security Council to formally declare the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria as genocide. 

The lowest ranking country in 2013, Niger, had 35 points, this year's lowest ranking country, Oman, had 53 points - an increase of more than 50 per cent.

Lisa Pearce said: "This is a cause of great concern. Many countries have dropped down the list, not because persecution there is decreasing, but simply because others are getting worse faster."

Credit to The Express

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/669376/mapped-most-dangerous-places-in-world-to-be-Christian-North-Korea-Syria-Iraq