Context: India’s press freedom has rapidly declined in recent years and is currently ranked 159 out of the 180 nations.
Press Freedom
More information:
- World Press Freedom Index (2024) is published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
- The index evaluates 180 countries based on the freedom and independence of journalists.
- The press freedom questionnaire covers five categories:
- Political context
- Legal framework
- Economic context
- Socio cultural context
- Security
- Norway and Denmark topped the RSF table while Eritrea was at the bottom, with Syria just ahead of it.
- Press freedoms fell by an average 7.6 points globally.
- No Asian country made it to the Index’s top 15 in 2024, indicating a pervasive challenge to press freedom in the region.
- In the Asia-Pacific region, which ranks as the world’s second most challenging area for journalism, several countries, including Myanmar, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, are among the most dangerous for media personnel.
India’s rank:
- India is ranked at 159th (a slight improvement from its previous rank of 161 in 2023), while Pakistan stands marginally higher at 152 and Sri Lanka stands at 150th place.
- Scores for India dropped (worsened) in all but the security indicator.
- However, the government has in the past dismissed international rankings of freedoms in India as misinformed and propaganda driven.
About Reporters Without Borders:
- It is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization focused on safeguarding the right to freedom of information.
- It describes its advocacy as founded on the belief that everyone requires access to the news and information, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that recognises the right to receive and share information regardless of frontiers.
- RSF works on the ground in defence of individual journalists at risk and at the highest levels of government and international forums to defend the right to freedom of expression and information.
- Head office is based in Paris.
- The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the organization's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year.