How to read the persecution map
What rank and score mean, and what they do not.
Editorial draft, not yet reviewed
Rank is a position
The map uses Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026. A country’s rank is its position in that list. It is not a count of incidents.
Score is an assessment
The score is the source’s own assessment for a reporting period. It is not the chance that any one person will be harmed.
Missing is not safe
A country outside the published Top 50 is not “safe”, and a country with no data is not “zero”. Check the reporting period, which is different from the publication date.