Government restrictions on religion
The Government Restrictions Index (GRI) gives a score from 0.0 to 10.0 to each country and territory analyzed in this study based on how much they limit or control religious activity such as public preaching or worship, and how much they harass or use force against religious groups. The first section below discusses countries with the highest GRI scores (i.e., those with the most extensive levels of government restrictions in 2022) and countries with large changes in their GRI scores from the previous year.
Among the 198 countries and territories analyzed in this study, 59 had either “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions on religion in 2022. This figure was an increase from 55 countries in 2021 and a new peak level for the study.
Of these countries, 24 had “very high” scores on the GRI, an increase from 19 countries in 2021. And 35 countries had “high” GRI scores, down from 36 countries the previous year. (A score of 4.5 to 6.5 – out of 10.0 – is classified as a “high” score for a country, while a score of 6.6 to 10.0 is classified as “very high.” For more information on how the “high” and “very high” categories are defined for the GRI, refer to the Methodology.)
Countries with the most extensive government restrictions
Seven countries moved from the “high” GRI category to the “very high” category in 2022, including Iraq, Israel, Mauritania, Morocco, Turkey, Vietnam and Western Sahara. Most of these countries had small changes in their GRI scores (increases of 0.1 to 0.9 on the index) that pushed them from one category to the other. For example, Mauritania’s score on the GRI rose by 0.5 points (from 6.1 to 6.6), due in part to the April arrest of a man in the border town of Rosso after his son brought Bibles and other Christian literature into Mauritania across the country’s border with Senegal. (The man claimed ownership of the materials as a way to deflect blame from his son, and was released from detention by the end of the year, according to the U.S. State Department.)
Israel’s GRI score increased by 1.0 point in 2022, from 5.7 to 6.7, partly due to new reports of violations of prisoners’ religious freedom, which said that Israeli authorities prevented prisoners from praying; ate in front of detainees while they were fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan; and removed the headscarves of women prisoners.
In 2022, both Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan moved in the other direction on the GRI, from the “very high” category to “high.” Kazakhstan’s score fell by less than 1.0 point, from 7.0 to 6.3, while Turkmenistan’s score fell by more than 2.0 points, from 7.1 to 4.8.
In Turkmenistan, unlike in the previous year, there were no reported arrests in 2022 of people for holding religious gatherings or for being conscientious objectors to military service, according to the sources analyzed for the study. Although religious people in the country still faced harassment and many religious prisoners remained incarcerated in Turkmenistan, minority religious groups reported facing fewer barriers to practicing their faith freely. For example, there were improved relations with authorities and fewer hurdles to register as religious groups, according to the U.S. State Department.
For a full list of countries in each GRI category, refer to Appendix A.
Changes in scores on Government Restrictions Index
In 2022, a total of 97 countries had increases of 0.1 point or more on the GRI, while 63 countries had decreases of 0.1 point or more.
Looking at changes in classification, about two-thirds of the countries analyzed (134 out of 198) had small changes (0.1 to 0.9) in their GRI scores in 2022: 85 were small increases, and 49 were small decreases.
An additional 38 countries had no increase or decrease, while 25 had modest changes (1.0 to 1.9 points) in 2022, including 12 with modest increases and 13 with modest decreases.
Only Turkmenistan had a large decrease (2.0 points or more). No country had a large increase in its GRI in 2022.
Social hostilities related to religion
The Social Hostilities Index (SHI) gives a score to each country based on reports of incidents of religion-related hostilities carried out by nongovernment actors (such as private individuals and social groups). These acts can include verbal and physical harassment, mob violence, tensions between religious groups, or violence carried out in the name of religion. This section of the report discusses countries with the most extensive levels of social hostilities and large changes in SHI scores from 2021 to 2022.
In total, 45 countries had “high” or “very high” levels of social hostilities in 2022, compared with 43 countries in 2021. Among these countries, seven had “very high” SHI scores in 2022, the same number as in the previous year. A total of 38 countries had “high” levels of social hostilities, up from 36 in 2021. On the Social Hostilities Index, scores of 3.6 to 7.1 (out of 10.0) are categorized as “high,” while scores of 7.2 to 10.0 are considered “very high.” (Refer to the Methodology to learn about how these categories are defined.)
Countries with the most extensive social hostilities
Nigeria was one of the seven countries with “very high” levels of social hostilities in 2022. The U.S. State Department reported that “general insecurity was prevalent throughout the country” in 2022, with multiple reports of religion-related mob violence, kidnappings and mass killings of Muslims and Christians by armed gangs. In addition, the militant groups Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa burned churches and mosques in the northeast part of the country.
Of the seven countries with “very high” SHI scores in 2022, only one (Iraq) moved into this category. An additional country (Israel) moved out of the category and instead into the “high” category.
In Iraq, part of the SHI increase was related to activities of sectarian armed groups such as the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which detained religious minorities and kept them in secret prisons. (For more examples of social hostilities by the PMF in Iraq, refer to Chapter 3.) According to Amnesty International, there also were more reports in the Iraqi Kurdistan region in 2022 than in previous years of women and girls being killed by male family members for reasons including conversions to another religion.
Israel’s SHI score went down in 2022, partly because there was no recurrence of the civil unrest that erupted in several “mixed” Jewish and Arab areas in May 2021 during an escalation of hostilities in Jerusalem and Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department. (During the weeklong clashes between Jewish and Palestinian protesters, there had been violence and vandalism at synagogues, a mosque and Muslim gravesites.)
For a list of countries in each SHI category, refer to Appendix B.
Changes in scores on Social Hostilities Index
In 2022, four countries had large changes (2.0 points or more) in their SHI scores. Three of them – Iran, Jordan and Sierra Leone – had large increases in their SHI scores, while Uganda had a large decrease. An additional 42 countries had modest changes (1.0 to 1.9 points) in their scores, including 18 modest increases and 24 decreases. A total of 103 countries had small changes (0.1 to 0.9 points), including 42 increases and 61 decreases. And 49 countries had no changes in their SHI scores.
Of the four countries with large changes, two (Iran and Sierra Leone) moved into different SHI categories. Iran moved from “moderate” to the “high” category, while Sierra Leone moved from “low” to the “moderate” SHI category. Meanwhile, Jordan and Uganda stayed in the “high” category despite having large shifts in their SHI scores.
Iran’s increase on the SHI was partly driven by an attack on a Shiite shrine in October that killed at least 15 people and wounded at least 19 others, according to the U.S. State Department. The militant group Islamic State (which aligns with the Sunni branch of Islam) claimed it was behind the sectarian attack. In addition, attacks against Shiite clerics increased during the year due to their perceived association with the “clerical regime,” the U.S. State Department said.
Sierra Leone’s score went up due to multiple reports of hostilities between groups. For example, foreign preachers from Pakistan who are part of the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary movement, attacked an Ahmadi Muslim missionary from Pakistan for “listening to a different version of the Quran on his cell phone,” the U.S. State Department reported. And a Pentecostal church in Sierra Leone was attacked by Muslims in the area during a graduation ceremony. The attackers damaged furniture, threw stones and complained that the ceremony was too noisy.
Uganda’s SHI score decreased in 2022 due to fewer reports of hostilities over conversions and proselytizing compared with the previous year.
Changes in overall restrictions on religion
When combining each country’s GRI and SHI scores, we find that 88 countries had overall increases in scores from 2021, 85 had decreases, and 25 had no overall change.
Among the 88 increases, 67 were small ones (0.1 to 0.9 points) and 18 were modest (1.0 to 1.9 points). A total of three countries – Iran, Jordan and Sierra Leone – had large overall increases in their scores.
When looking at the 85 countries where overall scores fell in 2022, 60 had small decreases (0.1 to 0.9 points) and 24 had modest declines (1.0 to 1.9 points). Only Turkmenistan had a large overall decrease.
