Iran
Iran's population is estimated at 69 million, with over 98 percent Muslim. At the last official census, taken in 1996, there were an estimated 79,000 Christians.

Islam is the official religion in Iran, and all laws and regulations must be consistent with the official interpretation of sharia law. Since the beginning of 2004 when conservative parties won the elections, religious freedom deteriorated considerably. The situation grew worse after hard-line conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president in 2005.

Although Christians belong to one of the recognized religious minorities who are guaranteed religious freedom, they have reported imprisonment, harassment and discrimination because of their faith. Various Christian groups known to use literature and other means to spread their faith among the majority Shiite Muslim population were targeted over the past year. Under Iran's strict apostasy laws, any Muslim who leaves Islam to embrace another religion faces the death penalty.