India Improves its Rank on 2024 World Press Freedom Index to 159
Report
5 min read
India has improved its ranking on the World Press Freedom Index 2024 by two positions. India, which was ranked 161 out of 180 countries in the world in 2023, improved its position to 159 in 2024, a jump of two ranks.
The World Press Freedom Index was released by a French non-governmental organisation, Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) which is also known as Reporters Without Border.
In its report, the RSF said that the maximum threat to the freedom of the press was from the government.
World Press Freedom Index and its composition
The RSF compiles the World Press Freedom Index to get an idea of the status of freedom of the press in 180 countries and territories of the world and a tool to compare the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media.
The World Press Freedom Index uses five indicators to compile the Index.
These five indicators are political, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety of the Journalist.
The index takes into account the situation faced by the press and the journalist in a calendar (January -December) year. Thus, the 2024 report is based on the situation that prevailed in 2023 regarding the freedom of the press in these countries.
Situation of Press Freedom in India
India has been put in a serious category along with countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh etc. According to the Index, press freedom is in crisis in the world’s largest democracy due to violence against journalists, highly concentrated media ownership, and political alignment.
India has been ranked behind countries like Pakistan, which has been ranked 152, Sri Lanka, which is ranked 150; and Turkey, which is ranked 158.
World Press Freedom Index 2024, Top 10 Free Countries
Norway retained its position as the country with the most free press in the world. Denmark improved its rank from three in 2023 to two in 2024.
|
Rank |
Country |
Score |
|
1 |
Norway |
91.89 |
|
2 |
Denmark |
89.6 |
|
3 |
Sweden |
88.32 |
|
4 |
Netherlands |
87.73 |
|
5 |
Finland |
86.65 |
|
6 |
Estonia |
86.64 |
|
7 |
Portugal |
85.9 |
|
8 |
Ireland |
85.59 |
|
9 |
Switzerland |
84.01 |
|
10 |
Germany |
83.84 |
In 2024, all the top 10 ranked countries are from Western Europe. In 2023, the only Asian country to be included in the top 10 was Timor Leste,
Top 10 Countries with Worst Press Freedom
In 2023, North Korea was ranked as the country with the worst press freedom. This year, Eritrea, an African country, was ranked at the bottom of the index. Except for Eritrea, all the other 10 bottom-ranked countries are from Asia.
|
Rank |
Country |
Score |
|
180 |
Eritrea |
16.64 |
|
179 |
Syria |
17.41 |
|
178 |
Afghanistan |
19.09 |
|
177 |
North Korea |
20.66 |
|
176 |
Iran |
21.33 |
|
175 |
Turkmenistan |
22.01 |
|
174 |
Vietnam |
22.31 |
|
173 |
Bahrain |
23.31 |
|
172 |
China |
23.36 |
|
171 |
Myanmar |
24.41 |
About Reporters sans Frontier (RSF) or Reporters without Borders.
Reporters Sans Frontier (RSF), or Reporters without Borders, is an international non-profit organisation which was founded in 1985 in Montpellier, France by four journalists.
The RSF works to defend every human being's right to have access to free and reliable information.
RSF has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International.
