World Press Freedom Index 2022 List: Freedom of press Ranking

Abhishek Ranavat

 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."