All the news
All the news Africa
All the news americas
All the news Asia
All the news Middle-East
All the news Europa All the news on the internet
fran­ais Espanol All teh news Work with us About us
 
Worldwide press freedom index

How the index was drawn up

-  This index measures the amount of freedom journalists and the media have in each country and the efforts made by governments to see that press freedom is respected.

-  Reporters Without Borders sent out a questionnaire based on the main criteria for such freedom and asking for details of directs attacks on journalists (such as murders, imprisonment, physical assaults and threats) and on the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and pressure). It also asked about the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for such violations.

-  The questionnaire recorded the legal environment for the media (such as punishment for press offences, a state monopoly in some areas and the existence of a regulatory body) and the behaviour of the state towards the public media and the foreign press. It also noted the main threats to the free flow of information on the Internet.

-  Reporters Without Borders has not just taken into account the excesses of the state but also those of armed militias, underground organisations and pressure groups that can be serious threats to press freedom. In addition, the state does not always use all its resources to fight the impunity the perpetrators of such violence very often have.

-  The questionnaire was sent to people with a real knowledge of the press freedom situation in one or more countries, such as local journalists or foreign correspondents living in the country, researchers, legal experts, specialists on a region and the researchers of the Reporters Without Borders International Secretariat.

-  The countries included in the index are those about which Reporters Without Borders received completed questionnaires from several independent sources. Other countries have not been included for lack of reliable information. Countries that got equal scores have been ranked in alphabetical order.

-  This index of press freedom is a portrait of the situation based on events between September 2001 and October 2002 . It does not take account of all human rights violations, only those that affect press freedom.

-  Neither is it an indicator of the quality of a country's media. Reporters Without Borders defends press freedom without regard to the content of the media, so any ethical or professional departures from the norm have not been taken into account.

Become a member
Sign the petitions
Buy the album

Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Reporters Without Borders has nine national sections (in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok, Istanbul, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Tokyo and Washington and more than a hundred correspondents worldwide.
The index

Rank Country Note
1 Finland 0,50
- Iceland 0,50
- Norway 0,50
- Netherlands 0,50
5 Canada 0,75
6 Ireland 1,00
7 Germany 1,50
- Portugal 1,50
- Sweden 1,50
10 Denmark 3,00
11 France 3,25
12 Australia 3,50
- Belgium 3,50
14 Slovenia 4,00
15 Costa Rica 4,25
- Switzerland 4,25
17 United States 4,75
18 Hong Kong 4,83
19 Greece 5,00
20 Ecuador 5,50
21 Benin 6,00
- United Kingdom 6,00
- Uruguay 6,00
24 Chile 6,50
- Hungary 6,50
26 South Africa 7,50
- Austria 7,50
- Japan 7,50
29 Spain 7,75
- Poland 7,75
31 Namibia 8,00
32 Paraguay 8,50
33 Croatia 8,75
- El Salvador 8,75
35 Taiwan 9,00
36 Mauritius 9,50
- Peru 9,50
38 Bulgaria 9,75
39 South Korea 10,50
40 Italy 11,00
41 Czech Republic 11,25
42 Argentina 12,00
43 Bosnia and Herzegovina 12,50
- Mali 12,50
45 Romania 13,25
46 Cape Verde 13,75
47 Senegal 14,00
48 Bolivia 14,50
49 Nigeria 15,50
- Panama 15,50
51 Sri Lanka 15,75
52 Uganda 17,00
53 Niger 18,50
54 Brazil 18,75
55 Ivory Coast 19,00
56 Lebanon 19,67
57 Indonesia 20,00
58 Comoros 20,50
- Gabon 20,50
60 Yugoslavia 20,75
- Seychelles 20,75
62 Tanzania 21,25
63 Central African Republic 21,50
64 Gambia 22,50
65 Madagascar 22,75
- Thailand 22,75
67 Bahrain 23,00
- Ghana 23,00
69 Congo 23,17
70 Mozambique 23,50
71 Cambodia 24,25
72 Burundi 24,50
- Mongolia 24,50
- Sierra Leone 24,50
75 Kenya 24,75
- Mexico 24,75
77 Venezuela 25,00
78 Kuwait 25,50
79 Guinea 26,00
80 India 26,50
81 Zambia 26,75
82 Palestinian National Authority 27,00
83 Guatemala 27,25
84 Malawi 27,67
85 Burkina Faso 27,75
86 Tajikistan 28,25
87 Chad 28,75
88 Cameroon 28,83
89 Morocco 29,00
- Philippines 29,00
- Swaziland 29,00
92 Israel 30,00
93 Angola 30,17
94 Guinea-Bissau 30,25
95 Algeria 31,00
96 Djibouti 31,25
97 Togo 31,50
98 Kyrgyzstan 31,75
99 Jordan 33,50
- Turkey 33,50
101 Azerbaijan 34,50
- Egypt 34,50
103 Yemen 34,75
104 Afghanistan 35,50
105 Sudan 36,00
106 Haiti 36,50
107 Ethiopia 37,50
- Rwanda 37,50
109 Liberia 37,75
110 Malaysia 37,83
111 Brunei 38,00
112 Ukraine 40,00
113 Democratic Republic of the Congo 40,75
114 Colombia 40,83
115 Mauritania 41,33
116 Kazakhstan 42,00
117 Equatorial Guinea 42,75
118 Bangladesh 43,75
119 Pakistan 44,67
120 Uzbekistan 45,00
121 Russia 48,00
122 Iran 48,25
- Zimbabwe 48,25
124 Belarus 52,17
125 Saudi Arabia 62,50
126 Syria 62,83
127 Nepal 63,00
128 Tunisia 67,75
129 Libya 72,50
130 Iraq 79,00
131 Vietnam 81,25
132 Eritrea 83,67
133 Laos 89,00
134 Cuba 90,25
135 Bhutan 90,75
136 Turkmenistan 91,50
137 Burma 96,83
138 China 97,00
139 North Korea 97,50