World Press Freedom Index 2022 List
Ranking | Country | Score |
1 | Norway | 92.65 |
2 | Denmark | 90.27 |
3 | Sweden | 88.84 |
4 | Estonia | 88.83 |
5 | Finland | 88.42 |
6 | Ireland | 88.30 |
7 | Portugal | 87.07 |
8 | Costa Rica | 85.92 |
9 | Lithuania | 84.14 |
10 | Liechtenstein | 84.03 |
11 | New Zealand | 83.54 |
12 | Jamaica | 83.35 |
13 | Seychelles | 83.33 |
14 | Switzerland | 82.72 |
15 | Iceland | 82.69 |
16 | Germany | 82.04 |
17 | Timor-Leste | 81.89 |
18 | Namibia | 81.84 |
19 | Canada | 81.74 |
20 | Czech Republic | 80.54 |
21 | Luxembourg | 79.81 |
22 | Latvia | 79.17 |
23 | Belgium | 78.86 |
24 | UK | 78.71 |
25 | Trinidad and Tobago | 78.68 |
26 | France | 78.53 |
27 | Slovakia | 78.37 |
28 | Netherlands | 77.93 |
29 | Argentina | 77.28 |
30 | Dominican Republic | 76.90 |
31 | Austria | 76.74 |
32 | Spain | 76.71 |
33 | Bhutan | 76.46 |
34 | Guyana | 76.41 |
35 | South Africa | 75.56 |
36 | Cabo Verde | 75.37 |
37 | Ivory Coast | 74.46 |
38 | Taiwan | 74.08 |
39 | Australia | 73.77 |
40 | Moldova | 73.47 |
41 | Burkina Faso | 73.12 |
42 | United States | 72.74 |
43 | South Korea | 72.11 |
44 | Uruguay | 72.03 |
45 | Samoa | 71.39 |
46 | Sierra Leone | 71.03 |
47 | Belize | 70.67 |
48 | Croatia | 70.42 |
49 | Tonga | 69.74 |
50 | The Gambia | 69.25 |
51 | Armenia | 68.97 |
52 | Suriname | 68.95 |
53 | Andorra | 68.79 |
54 | Slovenia | 68.54 |
55 | OECS | 68.49 |
56 | Romania | 68.46 |
57 | North Macedonia | 68.44 |
58 | Italy | 68.16 |
59 | Niger | 67.80 |
60 | Ghana | 67.43 |
61 | Kosovo | 67.00 |
62 | Papua New Guinea | 66.66 |
63 | Montenegro | 66.54 |
64 | Mauritius | 66.07 |
65 | Cyprus | 65.97 |
66 | Poland | 65.64 |
67 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 65.64 |
68 | Ecuador | 64.61 |
69 | Kenya | 64.59 |
70 | Haiti | 64.55 |
71 | Japan | 64.37 |
72 | Kyrgyzstan | 64.25 |
73 | Senegal | 63.07 |
74 | Panama | 62.78 |
75 | Liberia | 62.77 |
76 | Nepal | 62.67 |
77 | Peru | 61.75 |
78 | Malta | 61.55 |
79 | Serbia | 61.51 |
80 | Malawi | 61.40 |
81 | North Cyprus | 61.08 |
82 | Chile | 60.61 |
83 | Comoros | 60.16 |
84 | Guinea | 59.82 |
85 | Hungary | 59.80 |
86 | Israel | 59.62 |
87 | Maldives | 59.55 |
88 | Lesotho | 59.39 |
89 | Georgia | 59.30 |
90 | Mongolia | 59.17 |
91 | Bulgaria | 59.12 |
92 | Guinea Bissau | 58.79 |
93 | Congo- Brazzaville | 58.64 |
94 | Tunisia | 58.49 |
95 | Botswana | 58.49 |
96 | Paraguay | 58.36 |
97 | Mauritania | 58.10 |
98 | Madagascar | 58.02 |
99 | Angola | 57.17 |
100 | Togo | 57.17 |
101 | The central African Republic | 56.96 |
102 | Fiji | 56.91 |
103 | Albania | 56.41 |
104 | Chad | 56.18 |
105 | Gabon | 56.00 |
106 | Ukraine | 55.76 |
107 | Burundi | 55.74 |
108 | Greece | 55.52 |
109 | Zambia | 55.40 |
110 | Brazil | 55.36 |
111 | Mali | 54.48 |
112 | El Salvador | 54.09 |
113 | Malaysia | 51.55 |
114 | Ethiopia | 50.53 |
115 | Thailand | 5015 |
116 | Mozambique | 49.89 |
117 | Indonesia | 49.27 |
118 | Cameroon | 49.10 |
119 | Qatar | 49.03 |
120 | Jordan | 48.66 |
121 | Benin | 48.39 |
122 | Kazakhstan | 48.28 |
123 | Tanzania | 48.28 |
124 | Guatemala | 47.94 |
125 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 47.66 |
126 | Bolivia | 47.58 |
127 | Mexico | 47.57 |
128 | South Sudan | 47.06 |
129 | Nigeria | 46.79 |
130 | Lebanon | 46.58 |
131 | Eswatini | 46.42 |
132 | Uganda | 46.35 |
133 | Uzbekistan | 44.74 |
134 | Algeria | 45.53 |
135 | Morocco/Western Sahara | 45.42 |
136 | Rwanda | 45.18 |
137 | Zimbabwe | 44.94 |
138 | UAE | 44.46 |
139 | Singapore | 44.23 |
140 | Somalia | 44.01 |
141 | Equatorial Guinea | 43.96 |
142 | Cambodia | 43.48 |
143 | Libya | 43.16 |
144 | Brunei | 42.53 |
145 | Colombia | 42.43 |
146 | Sri Lanka | 42.13 |
147 | Philippines | 41.84 |
148 | Hong Kong | 41.64 |
149 | Turkey | 41.25 |
150 | India | 41.00 |
151 | Sudan | 40.96 |
152 | Tajikistan | 40.26 |
153 | Belarus | 39.62 |
154 | Azerbaijan | 39.40 |
155 | Russia | 38.82 |
156 | Afghanistan | 38.27 |
157 | Pakistan | 37.99 |
158 | Kuwait | 37.87 |
159 | Venezuela | 37.78 |
160 | Nicaragua | 37.09 |
161 | Laos | 36.64 |
162 | Bangladesh | 36.63 |
163 | Oman | 35.99 |
164 | Djibouti | 35.75 |
165 | Honduras | 34.61 |
166 | Saudi Arabia | 33.71 |
167 | Bahrain | 30.97 |
168 | Egypt | 30.23 |
169 | Yemen | 29.14 |
170 | Palestine | 28.98 |
171 | Syria | 28.94 |
172 | Iraq | 28.59 |
173 | Cuba | 27.32 |
174 | Vietnam | 26.11 |
175 | China | 25.17 |
176 | Myanmar | 25.03 |
177 | Turkmenistan | 25.01 |
178 | Iran | 23.22 |
179 | Eritrea | 19.62 |
180 | North Korea | 13.92 |
- India is now ranked 150th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, down from 142nd last year.
- With the exception of Nepal, all of India's neighbours are now ranked lower, with Pakistan falling to 157th, Sri Lanka to 146th, Bangladesh to 162nd, and Myanmar to 176th in the index.
- Nepal has moved up 30 points to take up position 76 globally in the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index. The Himalayan nation was ranked 106th in the index last year, ahead of Pakistan (145th), Sri Lanka (127th), Bangladesh (152nd), and Myanmar (140th).
- This year, Norway took the top spot, followed by Denmark in second, Sweden in third, Estonia in fourth, and Finland in fifth, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 nations and territories ranked by Reporters Without Borders.
India's position in World Press Freedom Index(WPFI) since 2002
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based organisation, releases the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) every year in an effort to assess the level of freedom enjoyed by the media in 180 different nations. India's position dropped from 80 in the 2002 WPFI report's first year to 122 in 2010 and 131 in 2012. A closer examination of the WPFI methodology and operation is warranted given that the recently released 2020 WPFI has India ranked at 142, down 2 places from 2019, and has been the subject of considerable discussion and debate among media professionals, political parties, governments, bureaucrats, and also on social media.
What about the Freedom of Press in India?
- The Constitution, the supreme law of the land, guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
- Freedom of press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system but it is impliedly protected under article 19(1) (a) of the constitution, which states - "All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression".
- In 1950, the Supreme Court in Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations.
- However, Freedom of press is also not absolute.It faces certain restrictions under Article 19(2) which are as Matters related to interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.
Reasons behind the Fall in Ranking of India:
Pressure from Government:
- According to the index the media in India, among nations reputed to be more democratic, faces pressure from “increasingly authoritarian and/or nationalist governments”.
Faults in Policy Framework:
- Although the policy framework is protective in theory, it resorts to using defamation, sedition, contempt of court, and endangering national security against journalists critical of the government, branding them as "anti-national."