Press Freedom Index Rank

The purpose of the World Press Freedom Index is to compare the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories. The definition of press freedom used by RSF and its panel of experts to compile the Index is the following: "Press freedom is defined as the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety."

On the basis of this definition, the press freedom questionnaire and map are broken down into five distinct categories or indicators (political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety).

The Index is a snapshot of the situation during the calendar year (January-December) prior to its publication. Nonetheless, it is meant to be seen as an accurate reflection of the situation at the time of publication. Therefore, when the press freedom situation changes dramatically in a country between the end of the year assessed and publication, the data is updated to take account of the most recent events possible. This may be related to a new war, a coup d'état, a major attack on journalists, or the sudden introduction of an extreme repressive policy.

The Index is based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 that is assigned to each country or territory, with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst.

This score is calculated on the basis of two components:
- a quantitative tally of abuses against media and journalists in connection with their work;
- a qualitative analysis of the situation in each country or territory based on the responses of press freedom specialists (including journalists, researchers, academics and human rights defenders) to an RSF questionnaire available in 24 languages.

The scoring classifications are assigned in the source as follows:
- 85 - 100 points: good
- 70 - 85 points: satisfactory
- 55 - 70 points: problematic
- 40 - 55 points: difficult
- 0 - 40 points: very serious

Please refer to: https://rsf.org/en/methodology-used-compiling-world-press-freedom-index-2024?year=2024&data_type=general