Press freedom worldwide has seen some significant declines in the past year. While there were some good news stories — take a bow, Scandinavia — two thirds of those examined slipped in their rankings from the previous year. Criteria for the rankings include media pluralism, respect for journalists and positive environments within which they operate.
RANK/COUNTRY/Diff. 2014
1 Finland 0
2 Norway +1
Denmark illustrates how per capita GDP correlates positively with media freedom (a correlation coefficient of 0.41). Denmark is among the 20 countries with the highest per capita GDP in the world and is ranked 3rd in the 2015 Press Freedom Index.
3 Denmark +4
4 Netherlands -2
5 Sweden +5
6 New Zealand +3
7 Austria +5
8 Canada +10
9 Jamaica +8
10 Estonia +1
11 Ireland +5
12 Germany +2
13 Czech Republic 0
14 Slovakia +6
15 Belgium +8
16 Costa Rica +5
17 Namibia +5
18 Poland +1
19 Luxembourg -15
New Zealand, whose newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, is pictured here, is an example of a country renowned for its economic stability. It’s also a country that guarantees media freedom “in a durable manner,” according to the 2015 Press Freedom Index.
20 Switzerland -5
21 Iceland -13
22 Ghana +5
23 Uruguay +3
24 Cyprus +1
25 Australia +3
26 Portugal +4
27 Liechtenstein -21
28 Latvia +9
29 Suriname +2
30 Belize -1
31 Lithuania +1
32 Andorra -27
33 Spain +2
34 United Kingdom -1
35 Slovenia -1
36 Cape Verde -12
37 Eastern Caribbean -1
38 France +1
39 South Africa +3
Mongolia rose 34 places, the index’s biggest jump. It had few violations in 2014, while the benefits of legislation on access to information began to be seen. Problems remain, however, including on the legislative front, but there has been clear improvement.
40 Samoa 0
41 Trinidad and Tobago +2
42 Botswana -1
43 Chile +15
44 Tonga +19
45 El Salvador -7
46 Burkina Faso +6
47 Niger +1
48 Malta +3
49 United States -3
50 Comoros +3
51 Taiwan -1
52 Romania -7
53 Haiti -6
54 Mongolia +34
55 Mauritania +5
The long-running political crisis in Madagascar came to an end when Hery Rajaonarimampianina, pictured here, was elected president in 2014. This democratic transition boosted the country’s rating by 17 places. Some subjects, however, remain taboo for journalists.
56 Papua New Guinea -12
57 Argentina -2
58 Croatia +7
59 Malawi +14
60 Republic of Korea -3
61 Japan -2
62 Guyana +5
63 Dominican Republic +5
64 Madagascar +17
65 Hungary -1
66 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
67 Serbia -13
68 Mauritius +2
69 Georgia +15
70 Hong Kong -9
71 Senegal -9
72 Republic of Moldova -16
73 Italy -24
74 Nicaragua -3
75 United Republic Of Tanzania -6
South Sudan is gripped by civil war and the radical polarization and constant harassment of news organizations caused it to drop by six places on the 2015 Press Freedom Index. These disturbing developments come on the third anniversary of the country’s birth.
76 Cyprus North +7
77 Lesotho -3
78 Armenia 0
79 Sierra Leone -7
80 Togo -4
81 Guinea-Bissau +5
82 Albania +3
83 Panama +4
84 Benin -9
85 Mozambique -6
86 Côte d’Ivoire +15
87 Kosovo -7
88 Kyrgyzstan +9
89 Liberia 0
90 Kuwait +1
91 Greece +8
92 Peru +12
93 Fiji +14
94 Bolivia 0
Mexico pulled itself up four places on the 2015 Press Freedom Index. However, in November, which is not included in the index research, journalists were attacked during demonstrations about the disappearance of 43 trainee teachers in Guerrero.
95 Gabon +3
96 Seychelles +7
97 Uganda +13
98 Lebanon +8
99 Brazil +12
100 Kenya -10
101 Israel -5
102 Guinea 0
103 Timor-Leste -26
104 Bhutan -12
105 Nepal +15
106 Bulgaria -6
107 Republic of the Congo -25
108 Ecuador -13
109 Paraguay -4
110 Central African -1
111 Nigeria +1
112 Maldives -4
113 Zambia -20
114 Montenegro 0
115 Qatar -2
116 Tajikistan -1
117 Macedonia +6
118 Mali +4
119 Algeria +2
120 United Arab Emirates -2
121 Brunei Darussalam -4
122 Afghanistan +6
123 Angola +1
124 Guatemala +1
125 South Sudan -6
126 Tunisia +7
127 Oman +7
128 Colombia -2
129 Ukraine -2
130 Morocco +6
131 Zimbabwe +4
132 Honduras -3
133 Cameroon -2
134 Thailand -4
135 Chad +4
136 India +4
137 Venezuela -21
138 Indonesia -6
139 Cambodia +5
140 Palestine -2
141 Philippines +8
142 Ethiopia +1
143 Jordan -2
144 Myanmar +1
145 Burundi -3
146 Bangladesh 0
147 Malaysia 0
148 Mexico +4
149 Turkey +5
150 Democratic Republic Of The Congo +1
151 Gambia +4
152 Russian Federation -4
153 Singapore -3
154 Libya -17
155 Swaziland +1
156 Iraq -3
157 Belarus 0
158 Egypt +1
159 Pakistan -1
160 Kazakhstan +1
161 Rwanda +1
162 Azerbaijan -2
163 Bahrain 0
164 Saudi Arabia 0
165 Sri Lanka 0
166 Uzbekistan 0
167 Equatorial Guinea +1
168 Yemen -1
169 Cuba +1
170 Djibouti -1
171 Lao People’s Democratic Republic 0
172 Somalia +4
173 Islamic Republic of Iran 0
174 Sudan -2
175 Vietnam -1
176 China -1
177 Syrian Arab Republic 0
178 Turkmenistan 0
179 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 0
180 Eritrea 0
Excerpted with permission from Reporters Without Borders’ 2015 World Press Freedom Index. Visit http://en.rsf.org/ to read more Reporters Without Borders’ index analyses.
