Where the church stands in Libya
Most of Libya's Christians are migrants — Egyptian Copts and workers from sub-Saharan Africa — and the country's native believers are believed to number only in the hundreds. Leaving Islam can mean rejection by family and violence from armed groups.
Libya has been divided between rival governments since 2011. In 2015, militants aligned with the Islamic State beheaded 21 Christian migrant workers on a beach near Sirte. Today Libya is also a main route for migrants trying to reach Europe, many of them Christians, who face detention, extortion and abuse.
Signs of hope
Libyan believers who persevere in secret, and Christian migrants who carry their faith through great suffering.
The honest difficulty
Violent hostility to converts, a fractured state, and the abuse of migrants on the route to Europe.
What "Frontier" means
The least-reached category: fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus and there is no indigenous Gospel movement large enough to grow on its own. Most people here will never meet a Christian.
In Libya the majority religious context is Islam (~97%). The largest population still considered without meaningful Gospel access is the Libyan Arabs and Amazigh (Berber) peoples.
How to pray for Libya
Prayer is not a substitute for going; it is how going begins. Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.
- Pray for the small number of Libyan believers living in secret.
- Pray for Christian migrants detained and abused along the route to Europe.
- Ask God to remember the families of the 21 martyrs of Sirte.
- Pray for peace and a single, just government for Libya.
Questions people ask about Libya
Is Libya an unreached nation?
Libya is classified as frontier. The least-reached category: fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus and there is no indigenous Gospel movement large enough to grow on its own. Most people here will never meet a Christian. Roughly 1.5% of the population identifies as Christian and about 0.1% as evangelical, with an estimated 30 of its 40 people groups still considered unreached. Figures are rounded estimates and vary by source and year.
How many Christians are there in Libya?
About 1.5% of Libya's roughly 7 million people identify as Christian — approximately 105,000 people. Around 0.1% are evangelical. The largest group still without meaningful Gospel access is the Libyan Arabs and Amazigh (Berber) peoples.
What is the main religion in Libya?
Religious affiliation in Libya: Islam (~97%). About 1.5% of the population identifies as Christian and about 0.1% as evangelical.
How many people groups are there in Libya?
Joshua Project counts about 40 distinct people groups in Libya, and 30 of them are considered unreached. Among the least-reached: Libyan Arabs and Amazigh (Berber) peoples.
Is it dangerous to be a Christian in Libya?
Yes. Libya is ranked No. 4 on Open Doors' World Watch List 2025 — one of the ten countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution, measured across pressure in daily life and violence. The prayer points on this page are a place to start praying for believers there.
How can I pray for Libya?
Pray for the small number of Libyan believers living in secret. Pray for Christian migrants detained and abused along the route to Europe. Pick one of these, pray it for two minutes a day for a week, and ask one other person to pray it with you.