Countries ranked by freedom of press

Countries ranked by freedom of press, using the latest evaluation of the level of freedom available to journalists around the world.

Since 2002, Reporters Without Borders has released its annual World Press Freedom Index. The index assesses and ranks 180 countries and regions according to the degree of freedom available to journalists.

The index uses five categories to rank the press freedom situation in every country:

• Good
• Satisfactory
• Problematic
• Difficult
• Very serious

The index is not an evaluation of the quality of journalism. The index is an assessment of pluralism, independence of the media, quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each country and region.

The index draws on data gathered from an 87-question survey sent out to journalists in 180 countries. The analysis of the questionnaires is combined with quantitative data available on abuses and acts of violence towards journalists throughout the evaluation period. 

10 countries with the freest press

Journalists in these 10 countries enjoy the highest level of freedom.

1. Norway
2. Finland
3. Sweden
4. Denmark
5. Costa Rica
6. Netherlands
7. Jamaica
8. New Zealand
9. Portugal
10. Switzerland

Key findings from the World Press Freedom Index

• Norway topped the index for the fifth successive year.
• Eritrea has the lowest level of press freedom.
• The coronavirus pandemic has been used as grounds to block journalists’ access to information sources and reporting in the field.
• Data shows that journalists are finding it increasingly hard to investigate and report sensitive stories, especially in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
• Only 12 of the Index’s 180 countries (7%) can claim to offer a favourable environment for journalism, as opposed to 13 countries (8%) last year.
• Germany was stripped of its “good” classification (down 2 at 13th) because dozens of its journalists were attacked by supporters of extremist and conspiracy theory believers during protests against pandemic restrictions.
• The country that fell the furthest in 2021 was Malaysia, down 18 at 119th.
• Big descents were also registered by Comoros (down 9 at 84th) and El Salvador (down 8 at 82nd).
• The Middle East and North Africa continue to be the world’s most dangerous region for journalists.
• Reporters Without Borders itself was completely blocked in 73 countries and seriously impeded in 59 others, which reflects 73% of the 180 countries.

Countries ranked by freedom of press

The table below is a complete index of 180 countries ranked by freedom of press. Some countries have been excluded due to insufficient sample size.

Rank	Country	Score
1	Norway	6.72
2	Finland	6.99
3	Sweden	7.24
4	Denmark	8.57
5	Costa Rica	8.21
6	Netherlands	8.74
7	Jamaica	9.96
8	New Zealand	10.04
9	Portugal	10.11
10	Switzerland	10.55
11	Belgium	11.69
12	Ireland	11.91
13	Germany	8.25
14	Canada	15.25
15	Estonia	15.25
16	Iceland	15.37
17	Austria	16.34
18	Uruguay	16.38
19	Suriname	16.95
20	Luxembourg	17.56
21	Samoa	19.24
22	Latvia	19.26
23	Liechtenstein	19.49
24	Namibia	19.72
25	Australia	19.79
26	Cyprus	19.85
27	Cape Verde	20.09
28	Lithuania	20.15
29	Spain	19.70
30	Ghana	21.33
31	Trinidad & Tobago	21.55
32	South Africa	15.61
33	UK	21.65
34	France	17.89
35	Slovakia	23.02
36	Slovenia	23.10
37	Burkina Faso	23.17
38	Botswana	23.25
39	Andorra	23.32
40	Czech Rep.	23.38
41	Italy	22.63
42	South Korea	23.43
43	Taiwan	23.86
44	USA	20.03
45	OECS	23.97
46	Tonga	24.59
47	Papua New Guinea	24.88
48	Romania	24.91
49	Senegal	24.62
50	Dominican Rep.	25.60
51	Guyana	25.61
52	Seychelles	25.66
53	Belize	27.61
54	Chile	27.36
55	Fiji	27.92
56	Croatia	27.95
57	Madagascar	28.24
58	Bosnia & Herz.	28.34
59	Niger	28.44
60	Georgia	28.64
61	Mauritius	28.74
62	Malawi	28.80
63	Armenia	28.83
64	Poland	28.02
65	Bhutan	28.86
66	Ivory Coast	28.87
67	Japan	28.88
68	Mongolia	28.97
69	Argentina	28.99
70	Greece	28.43
71	East Timor	29.11
72	Maldives	29.13
73	Tunisia	29.53
74	Togo	29.59
75	Sierra Leone	29.61
76	Cyprus North	29.82
77	Panama	29.94
78	Kosovo	30.32
79	Kyrgyzstan	30.36
80	Hong Kong	30.44
81	Malta	30.46
82	El Salvador	30.49
83	Albania	30.59
84	Comoros	30.65
85	Gambia	30.76
86	Israel	27.78
87	Haiti	31.12
88	Lesotho	31.54
89	Moldova	31.61
90	Macedonia	31.67
91	Peru	31.71
92	Hungary	31.76
93	Serbia	32.03
94	Mauritania	32.25
95	Guinea-Bissau	32.68
96	Ecuador	32.83
97	Ukraine	28.37
98	Liberia	33.36
99	Mali	33.50
100	Paraguay	30.99
101	Ethiopia	33.63
102	Kenya	33.65
103	Angola	34.06
104	Montenegro	34.33
105	Kuwait	34.36
106	Nepal	34.62
107	Lebanon	32.20
108	Mozambique	35.39
109	Guinea	35.42
110	Bolivia	35.47
111	Brazil	36.25
112	Bulgaria	37.29
113	Indonesia	37.40
114	Benin	38.18
115	Zambia	38.21
116	Guatemala	38.45
117	Gabon	38.60
118	Congo	38.83
119	Malaysia	39.47
120	Nigeria	37.38
121	Nicaragua	39.98
122	Afghanistan	34.40
123	Chad	40.20
124	Tanzania	40.69
125	Uganda	41.19
126	Central African Rep.	41.92
127	Sri Lanka	45.64
128	Qatar	42.60
129	Jordan	42.89
130	Zimbabwe	43.12
131	UAE	43.13
132	Palestine	43.18
133	Oman	43.37
134	Colombia	43.44
135	Cameroon	43.78
136	Morocco	41.86
137	Thailand	44.15
138	Philippines	42.89
139	South Sudan	45.78
140	Myanmar	46.14
141	Swaziland	46.34
142	India	43.47
143	Mexico	41.84
144	Cambodia	46.84
145	Pakistan	44.16
146	Algeria	47.26
147	Burundi	47.57
148	Venezuela	46.16
149	DR Congo	48.59
150	Russia	48.00
151	Honduras	47.83
152	Bangladesh	49.71
153	Turkey	46.14
154	Brunei	49.91
155	Kazakhstan	50.28
156	Rwanda	50.66
157	Uzbekistan	50.74
158	Belarus	48.24
159	Sudan	52.93
160	Singapore	55.20
161	Somalia	55.47
162	Tajikistan	55.52
163	Iraq	53.57
164	Equatorial Guinea	55.67
165	Libya	55.73
166	Egypt	54.67
167	Azerbaijan	58.77
168	Bahrain	60.11
169	Yemen	62.35
170	Saudi Arabia	61.15
171	Cuba	63.93
172	Laos	70.56
173	Syria	68.11
174	Iran	70.11
175	Vietnam	75.18
176	Djibouti	78.62
177	China	78.10
178	Turkmenistan	80.03
179	North Korea	81.28
180	Eritrea	82.05

Source: Reporters Without Borders