Restrictions on religion increased around the world in 2016, according to the Pew Research Center. Their latest study on the subject show that overall restrictions on religion have increased for the second year in a row. The restrictions that were measured were the result either of government actions or the actions of individuals or societal groups. Key findings included that more than a quarter (28%) of countries had “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions on religion in 2016, an increase from 25% the year before. The share of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of social hostilities involving religion remained the same at 27%. A growing share of the incidents of government restrictions or social hostilities in 2016 involved political parties or social groups espousing nationalist positions. Overall, the number of countries where various religious groups were harassed either by governments or social groups increased in 2016.

Among the most populous countries in the world, Egypt, Russia, India, Indonesia and Turkey had the highest overall levels of religious restrictions, while China had the highest levels of government restrictions and India the highest levels of social hostilities involving religion.