More than 500 million Christians around the world face obstacles to obtaining a Bible because of government restrictions, persecution and socioeconomic barriers, according to a new global report.
The Bible Access Initiative released its 2026 Bible Access List on Thursday, assessing the availability of Scripture worldwide. The initiative is a partnership involving Bible League International, Digital Bible Society, Frontlines International, The Voice of the Martyrs and YouVersion.
Covering 106 countries, the report evaluates both direct restrictions on Scripture and economic or social conditions that make Bibles difficult to obtain.
Afghanistan ranked as the country with the greatest barriers, followed by Yemen, Somalia, North Korea, Eritrea and Mauritania. All six were classified as having “maximum restrictions.”
Turkmenistan, Libya, Sudan and Iran completed the top 10 and were rated as having “extreme restrictions,” along with Comoros and the Maldives.
The report placed Algeria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China, Syria, Myanmar, Nigeria, India, Cuba and several other countries in the “severe restrictions” category.
Another group, including Mozambique, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Turkey and Kenya, was classified as having “considerable restrictions,” while countries including Nicaragua, Russia, Ukraine, Colombia, Uganda, Sri Lanka and Mexico were listed as having “some restrictions.”
Shortages were especially pronounced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and India, where the report estimated deficits of more than 10 million Bibles in each country.
Uganda, Tanzania and China were each estimated to lack between 5 million and 10 million Bibles. Indonesia, Angola and Mozambique were also among the countries with the largest shortages, each facing deficits of between 3 million and 5 million along with Malawi, Rwanda, Madagascar and Kenya.
The report estimated shortages of 1 million to 3 million Bibles in the Ivory Coast, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Haiti, Cameroon, Cuba and Ghana, while South Sudan, Chad, Benin, Burkina Faso, Egypt and the Central African Republic were short between 500,000 and 1 million.
“We often hear that the Bible is more accessible than ever, but we must not confuse availability with access,” Bible Access List co-creator Wybo Nicolai said.
“Persecution-related Bible access restrictions can make accessing Scripture difficult or dangerous, while socioeconomic barriers can put a Bible beyond people’s reach,” Nicolai said. “Even where Scripture is available digitally, limited internet coverage or unsafe online environments can still prevent people from accessing it.”
