A US-based global report into religious freedom has identified high levels of religious repression in 28 countries.
In the report from the US International Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF), sixteen countries were designated as Tier 1 - the harshest level of repression: Myanmar, Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
A Tier 1 country, the report said, is "any country whose government engages in or tolerates particularly severe religious freedom violations, meaning those that are systematic, ongoing, and egregious. The State Department most recently made CPC (country of particular concern) designations in December 2017".
