Out of all religious groups in the world, Christians were the most persecuted for their faith in 2016.

Massimo Introvigne, director of the Centre for Studies on New Religions (Cesnur), told the Vatican Radio that around 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith this year. Moreover, approximately half a billion Christians all over the world were unable to express their faith freely in 2016.

The numbers are quite shocking, what with one Christian dying every six minutes this year, according to Breitbart News. The data was obtained from the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity.

Introvigne added that around 70 percent of Christians murdered in 2016 died because of tribal conflicts in Africa. More often than not, Christians are killed because they refuse to take up arms, citing their conscience as a reason.

"The other 30 percent, or 27,000, were killed in terror attacks, the destruction of Christian villages, or government persecution," he said.

The Catholic Church is considering giving sainthood to exemplary Christians killed in territories controlled by the Islamic State (ISIS). Introvigne said these Christians risked their lives to honour God and spread His Word.

However, there is some good that can be derived from this year's numbers. The number of Christians killed is actually down since the numbers reached as high as 105,000 in 2015. Still, Introvigne said Christians remain the most persecuted religious group in the world.