Why and How the Reports are Prepared

The Department of State submits this annual report to the Congress in compliance with section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-292), as amended.  This report covers the period between January 1 and December 31, 2018.

U.S. embassies prepare the initial drafts of country chapters based on information from government officials, religious groups, nongovernmental organizations, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, media, and others.  The Office of International Religious Freedom, based in Washington, collaborates in collecting and analyzing additional information, drawing on its consultations with foreign government officials, domestic and foreign religious groups, domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations, multilateral and other international and regional organizations, journalists, academic experts, community leaders, and other relevant U.S. government institutions.


The State Department’s guiding principle is to ensure that all relevant information is presented as objectively, thoroughly, and fairly as possible.  Motivations and accuracy of sources vary, however, and the Department of State is not in a position to verify independently all information contained in the reports.  To the extent possible, the reports use multiple sources to increase comprehensiveness and reduce potential for bias.  The views of any particular source are not necessarily those of the United States government.  The report is designed to spotlight examples of government and societal action that typify and illuminate issues reported in each country.  Specific inclusions or omissions should not be interpreted as a signal that a particular case is of greater or lesser importance to the U.S. government, or that a case is the only available example.  Rather, the goal is to shed light on the nature, scope, and severity of actions impacting religious freedom through illustrative examples.


This report reflects the efforts of hundreds of people in the Department of State and at U.S. missions abroad.  We thank the dedicated staff at our embassies and consulates for monitoring and promoting religious freedom, and for chronicling in detail the status of freedom of belief.  Many of them went to great lengths under difficult circumstances to acquire the information in this report.

The reports were produced under the direction of Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, with guidance from Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) Senior Bureau Official Michael G. Kozak, Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary Roger Carstens, Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Kelleher, and Special Advisor Knox Thames.

The editorial staff of the International Religious Freedom Report consists of the following:  Editor-in-Chief:  Robert W. Boehme; Senior Editors:  Victoria Alvarado, Brian D. Bachman, Daniel T. Fantozzi, Lisa B. Gregory, James A. McVerry, Carol Rodley, and Vicente Valle; Office of International Religious Freedom Director Daniel L. Nadel and Deputy Director Khashayar Ghashghai; the office’s professional, editorial and support staff:  Carter Allen, Eun Si Aum, Riley M. Barnes, Tanner Barton, MacKenzie Bills, Chelsea Brint, André Cadieux, Mariyam A. Cementwala, Howard Chyung, Warren Cofsky, Sean Comber, Stacy Bernard Davis, Gabriel del Bosque, Cassandra Harris, Sameer Hossain, Lambrini Kolios, Sarah Krech, Samantha Libraty, Peter G. Martin, Emilia McManus, Mariah J. Mercer, Daniel Merrill, Douglas Padgett, Kourtney Pompi, Robin Schulman, Victoria L. Thoman, Pauletta Walsh, Chelsea M. Whitaker, and Melika M. Willoughby; and Technical Coordinator:  Geoffrey Palcher.

Special thanks to Laura Conn in the Office of the Legal Advisor, and to Cory Andrews, Aaron Bruce, Carol Finerty, and Cabell Willis in DRL’s Office of Policy Planning and Public Diplomacy for their contributions.

Africa (Sub-Saharan)

Angola Côte d’Ivoire Guinea-Bissau Namibia South Africa
Benin Democratic Republic of the Congo Kenya Niger South Sudan
Botswana Djibouti Lesotho Nigeria Sudan
Burkina Faso Equatorial Guinea Liberia Republic of the Congo Tanzania
Burundi Eritrea Madagascar Rwanda The Gambia
Cabo Verde Eswatini Malawi Sao Tome and Principe Togo
Cameroon Ethiopia Mali Senegal Uganda
Central African Republic Gabon Mauritania Seychelles Zambia
Chad Ghana Mauritius Sierra Leone Zimbabwe
Comoros Guinea Mozambique Somalia

East Asia and Pacific

Australia Indonesia Mongolia Samoa Tuvalu
Brunei Japan Nauru Singapore Vanuatu
Burma Kiribati New Zealand Solomon Islands Vietnam
Cambodia Laos Palau Taiwan
China (Includes Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Macau) Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Marshall Islands Philippines Timor-Leste
Fiji Micronesia Republic of Korea Tonga

Europe and Eurasia

Albania Cyprus Iceland Monaco Slovakia
Andorra Czech Republic Ireland Montenegro Slovenia
Armenia Denmark Italy North Macedonia Spain
Austria Estonia Kosovo Norway Sweden
Azerbaijan Finland Latvia Poland Switzerland
Belarus France Liechtenstein Portugal The Netherlands
Belgium Georgia Lithuania Romania Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina Germany Luxembourg Russia Ukraine
Bulgaria Greece Malta San Marino United Kingdom
Croatia Hungary Moldova Serbia

Near East (Middle East and North Africa)

Algeria Iraq Lebanon Qatar United Arab Emirates
Bahrain Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Libya Saudi Arabia Western Sahara
Egypt Jordan Morocco Syria Yemen
Iran Kuwait Oman Tunisia

South and Central Asia

Afghanistan India Maldives Sri Lanka Uzbekistan
Bangladesh Kazakhstan Nepal Tajikistan
Bhutan Kyrgyz Republic Pakistan Turkmenistan

Western Hemisphere

Antigua and Barbuda Chile El Salvador Mexico Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Argentina Colombia Grenada Nicaragua Suriname
Barbados Costa Rica Guatemala Panama The Bahamas
Belize Cuba Guyana Paraguay Trinidad and Tobago
Bolivia Dominica Haiti Peru Uruguay
Brazil Dominican Republic Honduras Saint Kitts and Nevis Venezuela
Canada Ecuador Jamaica Saint Lucia
2018 Report on International Religious Freedom
Build a Custom Report

01 / Select a Year

02 / Select Sections

03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area.

U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future