Top 10 Countries of Particular Concern (2025): Nations Facing U.S. Religious Freedom Sanctions
When the U.S. government designates a nation as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)”, it signals that the country’s government has engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious freedom — the highest level of concern under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
This annual designation, announced by the U.S. Department of State, often follows recommendations from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). In 2025, USCIRF has again drawn global attention to governments accused of persecuting people based on their faith or beliefs.
⚠️ Potential Consequences for CPC Countries
The primary goal of a CPC designation is to pressure governments to improve their human-rights records. The United States can apply a range of diplomatic and economic tools, including:
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Diplomatic consequences: Public condemnation and formal diplomatic pressure.
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Economic sanctions: Restrictions on foreign aid, trade limits, or investment bans.
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Targeted actions: The U.S. can choose from 15 possible measures under IRFA — ranging from waiving sanctions to implementing strict punitive actions.
➡️ Learn more about IRFA and CPC policy on the U.S. State Department’s site.
🔟 The Top 10 Countries of Particular Concern for 2025
Below are ten nations most prominently listed or recommended as CPCs in 2025, based on U.S. State Department data and USCIRF recommendations (source).
1. China 🇨🇳
China remains one of the most repressive states for religious groups. The government’s crackdown on Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners, and underground Christians has been widely documented.
🔗 Read USCIRF’s 2025 China Report.
2. Iran 🇮🇷
Iran continues to detain, torture, and execute people for religious reasons, particularly Baha’is, Christians, and Sunni Muslims.
🔗 See details from the U.S. State Department’s Religious Freedom Report on Iran.
3. North Korea 🇰🇵
North Korea enforces an extreme totalitarian system where religion is banned and anyone found practicing faith faces imprisonment or death.
🔗 USCIRF North Korea Report 2025.
4. Myanmar (Burma) 🇲🇲
Myanmar’s military junta targets Christians and Muslims, including the Rohingya, amid ongoing ethnic cleansing and displacement.
🔗 Human Rights Watch on Myanmar’s religious abuses.
5. Russia 🇷🇺
Russia’s laws restrict Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims, and minority Christian denominations, often labeling them “extremists.”
🔗 Amnesty International – Russia Religious Freedom Update.
Also Read: Safest Countries World Vs Safest Countries Africa
6. Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
Despite some reforms, Saudi Arabia continues to outlaw public worship outside Islam and punishes conversion from Islam.
🔗 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom – Saudi Arabia 2025.
7. Pakistan 🇵🇰
Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws have led to mob violence, imprisonment, and deaths targeting Christians, Ahmadis, and Hindus.
🔗 USCIRF Pakistan 2025 Profile.
8. Eritrea 🇪🇷
Eritrea maintains harsh controls on all religious practice outside four officially recognized faiths. Thousands remain detained in military camps for worshipping privately.
🔗 U.S. State Department Religious Freedom Report – Eritrea.
9. Nigeria 🇳🇬
In 2025, the U.S. government under President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a CPC country, citing rising violence by extremist groups and government inaction. Christian communities in northern regions face kidnappings, arson, and killings.
🔗 USCIRF 2025 Nigeria Recommendation.
10. India 🇮🇳
India’s religious freedom conditions have sharply declined, with anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and attacks on Muslim and Christian minorities prompting USCIRF to recommend CPC status again in 2025.
🔗 USCIRF India 2025 Report.
📈 Why These Designations Matter
CPC status isn’t just symbolic — it affects diplomatic relations, trade, and humanitarian aid.
For example:
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North Korea and Iran face long-term U.S. sanctions.
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Pakistan and Nigeria risk targeted aid restrictions.
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China confronts increasing global scrutiny over human-rights abuses in Xinjiang.
By calling out these nations, the U.S. seeks to defend global religious liberty and pressure regimes to reform or face consequences.
Entities of Particular Concern
The most recent Entities of Particular Concern designations were made by the Secretary of State on December 29, 2023:
al Qa’ida affiliate Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Sahel (formerly known as ISIS-Greater Sahara), ISIS-West Africa, al Qa’ida affiliate Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, and the Taliban.
✅ Sources
