Known as “the Land of the Thunder Dragon,” Bhutan prides itself on its elevated “happiness” levels despite being considered a least developed country. Rather than relying on Gross Domestic Product as the leading indicator of the small Himalayan nation’s progress, the late King Wangchuk suggested it should examine its “Gross National Happiness.” In South Asia, Bhutan ranks highly in economic freedom and per capita income and ranks low in corruption. It has almost eradicated all extreme poverty and was the first nation to fully vaccinate its entire population against COVID-19. Yet, Christians are sometimes denied employment, free education, and access to electricity and water. Buddhism, mysticism, and animism have dominated the country since the 7th century.

As persecution is on the rise, Saudi Arabia moved to 11th position in the World Watch report 2022 by Open Doors for Christian persecution. Mohammed bin Salman is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam, has outlawed Churches and punished Christian worship for decades. The kingdom’s 1.4 million Christians meet in secret places. According to the human rights report, Saudi Arabia held the presidency of the G20 in 2020 despite the country’s longstanding human rights abuses. The Saudi-led coalition continued a military campaign against the Houthi rebel group in Yemen that has included scores of unlawful airstrikes that killed and wounded thousands of civilians. The majority of the Christians in Saudi Arabia are foreigners who temporarily live and work in the country. They are severely restricted in sharing their Christian faith with Muslims and in gathering for worship, which entails the risk of detention and deportation.