Press Freedom Index
Encyclopedia
The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders
based upon the organization's assessment of their press freedom
records. Small countries, such as Andorra
, are excluded from this report. The 2010 index was published on 20 October 2010.
The report is based on a questionnaire sent to partner organizations of Reporters Without Borders (14 freedom of expression groups in five continents) and its 130 correspondents around the world, as well as to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists.
The survey asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media as well as other indirect sources of pressure against the free press. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom, and does not measure the quality of journalism. Due to the nature of the survey's methodology based on individual perceptions, there are often wide contrasts in a country's ranking from year to year.
Notes: pre-2005 data included Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
pre-2005 data included Cyprus
pre-2007 data from Serbia and Montenegro
pre-2005 data from Serbia and Montenegro
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
based upon the organization's assessment of their press freedom
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
records. Small countries, such as Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, are excluded from this report. The 2010 index was published on 20 October 2010.
The report is based on a questionnaire sent to partner organizations of Reporters Without Borders (14 freedom of expression groups in five continents) and its 130 correspondents around the world, as well as to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists.
The survey asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media as well as other indirect sources of pressure against the free press. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom, and does not measure the quality of journalism. Due to the nature of the survey's methodology based on individual perceptions, there are often wide contrasts in a country's ranking from year to year.
Table
Rank 2010 | Country | Index 2010 | Index 2009 | Index 2008 | Index 2007 | Index 2006 | Index 2005 | Index 2004 | Index 2003 | Index 2002 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0.00 0.00 2.00 1.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 | |||||||||
1 | 0.00 2.00 1.50 0.75 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 | |||||||||
1 | 0.00 1.00 4.00 3.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 | |||||||||
1 | 0.00 0.00 1.50 0.75 2.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 | |||||||||
1 | 0.00 0.00 3.00 1.50 4.00 2.00 2.00 1.50 1.50 | |||||||||
1 | 0.00 1.00 3.00 3.00 2.50 0.50 0.50 2.50 4.25 | |||||||||
7 | 0.50 3.00 3.50 4.25 4.50 2.50 3.25 2.75 7.50 | |||||||||
8 | 1.50 3.00 3.00 4.17 5.00 2.00 0.67 2.83 | |||||||||
9 | 2.00 0.50 2.00 1.00 2.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 | |||||||||
9 | 2.00 0.00 2.00 2.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.83 1.00 | |||||||||
11 | 2.50 0.00 3.50 2.00 5.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 3.00 | |||||||||
11 | 2.50 3.25 6.50 11.75 12.50 8.00 10.00 8.00 7.50 | |||||||||
11 | 2.50 2.25 4.00 7.00 6.50 4.50 3.00 2.83 | |||||||||
14 | 4.00 2.50 3.00 1.50 4.00 4.00 4.00 1.17 3.50 | |||||||||
14 | 4.00 4.00 1.50 | |||||||||
14 | 4.00 2.50 | |||||||||
17 | 4.25 3.50 4.50 5.75 5.50 4.00 2.00 1.33 1.50 | |||||||||
18 | 5.38 3.13 6.25 8.79 9.00 6.50 9.50 9.25 3.50 | |||||||||
19 | 6.00 4.00 5.50 8.25 6.50 5.17 6.00 4.25 6.00 | |||||||||
20 | 6.75 4.00 8.00 14.50 13.00 9.50 4.00 6.00 4.75 | |||||||||
21 | 7.00 3.70 3.33 4.88 4.50 4.50 3.33 1.83 0.75 | |||||||||
21 | 7.00 9.00 5.50 8.50 6.00 5.50 10.00 11.00 8.00 | |||||||||
23 | 7.50 5.50 5.50 4.50 3.00 2.00 6.00 3.33 6.50 | |||||||||
23 | 7.50 5.00 4.00 4.00 0.75 1.00 3.50 2.50 11.25 | |||||||||
25 | 7.67 4.75 4.88 8.63 5.50 7.50 4.17 3.33 | |||||||||
26 | 8.00 11.00 8.00 14.00 11.50 6.00 8.75 8.25 13.75 | |||||||||
26 | 8.00 6.00 7.50 9.00 8.50 15.00 13.50 8.75 23.00 | |||||||||
26 | 8.00 8.00 7.50 16.50 9.00 8.00 12.83 11.00 12.50 | |||||||||
29 | 8.08 8.00 5.10 6.50 6.67 8.50 7.63 3.83 4.25 | |||||||||
30 | 8.50 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.50 1.00 2.25 | |||||||||
30 | 8.50 7.00 6.13 5.00 5.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 | |||||||||
32 | 8.88 9.50 9.00 18.50 14.00 12.50 6.83 6.17 7.75 | |||||||||
33 | 10.50 10.50 11.50 12.13 11.63 11.75 10.00 6.83 6.50 | |||||||||
34 | 10.75 11.75 9.75 20.00 14.00 8.25 7.50 11.00 4.83 | |||||||||
35 | 11.50 11.00 3.00 1.00 2.50 0.75 0.50 2.50 | |||||||||
35 | 11.50 10.60 6.00 | |||||||||
37 | 11.75 7.63 8.33 11.75 13.75 9.75 10.00 4.00 6.00 | |||||||||
38 | 12.00 8.50 8.00 13.00 11.25 6.50 5.00 3.33 7.50 | |||||||||
12.00 | ||||||||||
39 | 12.25 11.00 8.00 10.25 10.00 8.33 9.00 7.67 7.75 | |||||||||
40 | 12.36 8.00 4.00 2.00 3.00 4.83 4.50 5.17 1.50 | |||||||||
41 | 13.00 15.50 15.00 18.00 19.82 17.50 14.50 16.50 21.25 | |||||||||
42 | 13.33 15.67 9.00 12.13 7.75 7.50 11.13 9.17 10.50 | |||||||||
42 | 13.33 14.70 | |||||||||
44 | 13.38 10.67 7.67 9.75 9.00 6.25 3.50 4.17 3.25 | |||||||||
45 | 13.40 5.50 7.50 14.00 7.50 5.50 22.00 20.83 | |||||||||
46 | 13.44 9.50 7.33 6.50 3.00 1.00 2.25 3.00 4.00 | |||||||||
47 | 13.50 10.50 8.00 11.17 5.00 7.00 3.67 6.83 12.50 | |||||||||
48 | 14.50 15.08 8.00 10.00 10.50 12.25 14.25 12.00 9.00 | |||||||||
49 | 15.00 15.00 13.00 21.50 16.00 19.00 16.25 18.00 27.75 | |||||||||
49 | 15.00 12.14 8.42 11.25 9.90 8.67 9.00 9.75 11.00 | |||||||||
51 | 15.83 17.25 12.80 20.20 10.00 5.75 6.00 6.83 8.75 | |||||||||
52 | 16.00 14.00 23.25 45.17 51.25 58.50 69.17 47.50 | |||||||||
52 | 16.00 12.50 9.00 12.75 14.00 16.17 17.83 11.50 13.25 | |||||||||
54 | 16.25 14.33 20.50 26.10 18.25 15.50 10.50 7.17 8.50 | |||||||||
55 | 16.35 11.33 14.08 24.83 17.30 13.67 21.33 15.17 12.00 | |||||||||
56 | 16.38 15.00 15.13 23.50 19.50 33.50 42.13 31.00 36.50 | |||||||||
57 | Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , created in 1981, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean... 16.50 |
|||||||||
58 | 16.60 15.88 18.00 25.25 17.17 14.50 16.50 16.75 18.75 | |||||||||
59 | 16.63 10.50 19.75 | |||||||||
60 | 17.00 15.50 10.00 15.17 15.00 23.75 19.50 27.50 31.50 | |||||||||
61 | 17.25 14.00 10.00 19.00 14.50 12.50 22.00 20.83 | |||||||||
62 | 17.50 15.50 14.00 23.50 13.00 14.00 11.50 13.00 | |||||||||
62 | 17.50 17.17 8.50 12.50 13.00 12.83 11.83 16.50 8.75 | |||||||||
64 | 17.75 15.75 15.50 37.17 25.00 51.50 55.83 77.33 90.75 | |||||||||
65 | 18.00 14.00 9.00 8.50 8.00 7.50 10.50 7.25 9.50 | |||||||||
65 | 18.00 16.00 15.50 33.00 24.50 17.00 23.50 26.75 20.75 | |||||||||
67 | 18.25 23.50 16.33 33.50 14.50 17.00 23.50 35.25 30.25 | |||||||||
68 | 18.40 8.75 8.25 11.50 11.50 8.75 11.25 9.67 | |||||||||
69 | 18.50 17.75 18.50 22.50 14.50 19.75 32.50 32.75 21.50 | |||||||||
70 | 19.00 16.00 15.00 17.00 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.25 6.00 | |||||||||
70 | 19.00 15.61 12.50 16.25 9.00 10.25 8.00 6.50 9.75 | |||||||||
70 | 19.00 19.00 20.00 28.00 22.50 22.00 26.50 18.50 20.50 | |||||||||
70 | 19.00 9.00 7.50 9.25 8.00 4.00 7.00 6.00 5.00 | |||||||||
70 | 19.00 25.00 21.25 23.75 30.25 30.00 22.25 18.50 24.75 | |||||||||
75 | 19.13 33.75 21.38 24.75 19.17 17.50 20.50 27.00 | |||||||||
76 | 19.42 23.33 20.83 23.40 19.25 12.50 19.00 18.25 24.50 | |||||||||
77 | 20.25 29.50 22.64 33.00 21.25 21.50 16.50 30.83 27.25 | |||||||||
78 | 20.50 15.42 14.00 28.75 27.00 28.25 24.38 32.50 19.67 | |||||||||
79 | 21.00 15.50 15.00 26.75 25.50 22.75 31.00 21.00 27.67 | |||||||||
80 | 21.50 21.75 16.00 25.50 18.00 14.17 11.50 6.50 | |||||||||
81 | 21.83 14.50 11.83 17.88 9.50 15.00 14.50 9.75 15.50 | |||||||||
82 | 22.00 26.75 15.50 21.50 22.50 23.00 29.75 23.25 26.75 | |||||||||
83 | 22.33 16.75 12.50 14.25 15.50 15.25 11.67 6.50 | |||||||||
84 | 22.50 15.50 9.75 25.33 19.00 20.50 40.00 40.00 37.75 | |||||||||
85 | 23.00 15.50 13.50 21.00 11.50 14.83 20.13 21.33 20.75 | |||||||||
86 | (Israeli territory) 23.25 23.75 8.83 13.25 12.00 10.00 8.00 8.00 30.00 | |||||||||
87 | 23.75 21.50 14.50 20.25 17.50 25.75 50.25 37.00 | |||||||||
87 | 23.75 15.25 12.63 20.17 17.00 21.25 31.67 31.33 25.50 | |||||||||
87 | 23.75 18.00 38.25 13.00 14.50 38.17 | |||||||||
90 | 24.00 27.50 29.50 29.50 16.00 19.50 29.50 17.75 | |||||||||
91 | 24.25 34.00 27.75 39.50 26.00 39.50 24.50 23.50 24.50 | |||||||||
92 | Republic of Kosovo 24.83 16.58 12.00 19.75 16.00 25.75 20.13 21.33 20.75 | |||||||||
93 | 25.00 22.00 19.00 25.00 17.50 19.00 21.50 14.50 14.00 | |||||||||
93 | 25.00 16.00 13.75 27.00 18.50 13.50 13.50 5.50 | |||||||||
95 | 25.38 28.50 23.88 15.50 17.50 40.00 51.00 36.67 41.33 | |||||||||
96 | 25.50 21.50 26.00 28.00 29.83 19.25 24.00 25.75 17.00 | |||||||||
97 | 26.13 26.83 18.00 22.75 12.75 12.25 6.75 17.00 | |||||||||
98 | 26.50 19.00 20.50 23.00 11.50 10.50 16.25 14.00 23.50 | |||||||||
99 | (extraterritorial) 27.00 30.00 31.00 36.00 31.50 48.50 36.00 41.00 | |||||||||
99 | 27.00 18.83 31.25 20.83 21.00 25.17 27.50 17.33 | |||||||||
101 | 27.50 31.13 22.75 23.63 25.50 26.00 23.50 25.17 | |||||||||
101 | 27.50 20.00 15.50 18.50 15.25 21.75 16.50 7.67 5.50 | |||||||||
103 | 28.13 24.17 28.20 21.50 4.50 9.67 20.00 9.67 14.50 | |||||||||
104 | 28.50 36.50 29.50 26.50 21.50 18.00 26.50 28.00 30.17 | |||||||||
104 | 28.50 17.00 10.00 19.00 11.50 14.83 20.13 21.33 20.75 | |||||||||
104 | 28.50 48.50 37.00 25.50 24.50 13.00 18.33 15.75 18.50 | |||||||||
107 | 28.75 43.50 26.75 31.50 28.50 26.00 37.50 31.25 20.50 | |||||||||
108 | 28.88 29.00 21.00 43.40 39.83 | |||||||||
109 | 30.00 20.88 26.25 37.38 28.25 33.33 40.00 10.25 9.50 | |||||||||
110 | 30.50 31.00 41.50 50.25 33.00 37.00 55.00 35.50 31.25 | |||||||||
111 | 33.00 | |||||||||
112 | 33.17 44.50 41.25 36.50 35.50 30.00 33.25 24.00 28.75 | |||||||||
113 | 33.50 28.50 21.50 33.50 27.50 26.00 24.50 33.17 26.00 | |||||||||
114 | 33.60 34.75 20.75 24.50 17.00 17.00 17.50 14.00 23.17 | |||||||||
115 | 34.50 32.00 25.50 37.00 30.00 33.00 27.75 34.50 28.25 | |||||||||
116 | 34.88 45.83 21.00 20.00 15.00 24.50 18.50 8.17 22.75 | |||||||||
117 | 35.83 28.50 27.00 30.50 26.00 26.00 37.75 34.25 20.00 | |||||||||
118 | 36.00 29.00 26.50 27.00 25.00 52.25 60.38 42.17 19.00 | |||||||||
119 | 36.38 35.63 43.25 53.75 73.50 86.75 84.00 51.50 63.00 | |||||||||
120 | 37.00 31.88 36.00 40.21 27.50 24.00 39.13 37.00 33.50 | |||||||||
121 | 38.00 24.00 15.50 24.00 18.00 23.00 32.50 35.00 | |||||||||
122 | 38.75 29.33 30.00 39.33 26.50 27.00 38.50 39.00 26.50 | |||||||||
123 | 39.50 46.50 54.00 62.00 50.00 64.25 67.50 45.50 48.25 | |||||||||
124 | 40.25 29.50 32.67 57.75 | |||||||||
125 | 40.50 48.25 42.75 48.25 54.00 41.00 29.50 18.25 22.50 | |||||||||
126 | 42.50 37.33 42.70 53.17 48.00 61.25 62.50 46.50 43.75 | |||||||||
127 | 43.33 51.38 50.25 58.00 46.25 52.00 43.50 34.25 34.50 | |||||||||
128 | 43.83 35.17 35.50 25.33 27.25 23.00 36.50 19.50 24.25 | |||||||||
129 | 44.30 30.50 36.90 36.00 28.25 20.50 27.00 30.50 28.83 | |||||||||
130 | 45.58 53.30 59.38 67.83 66.83 67.00 58.50 37.50 79.00 | |||||||||
131 | 46.83 22.00 19.25 26.75 26.50 32.50 51.00 40.00 40.00 | |||||||||
132 | (extraterritorial) 47.00 55.50 51.50 32.00 47.00 37.50 49.00 | |||||||||
133 | 47.33 49.56 31.33 40.50 40.00 40.33 43.50 33.00 31.00 | |||||||||
133 | 47.33 39.50 27.33 36.88 29.00 23.00 24.63 27.83 25.00 | |||||||||
135 | 47.40 41.00 32.25 33.25 24.83 36.17 43.00 39.67 29.00 | |||||||||
136 | 47.50 48.25 46.13 53.63 45.83 45.50 27.83 17.67 24.75 | |||||||||
136 | 47.50 45.00 49.00 56.00 51.50 50.67 57.00 47.33 | |||||||||
138 | 49.25 38.25 22.75 31.25 25.00 25.00 37.25 35.00 33.50 | |||||||||
139 | 49.38 49.00 47.75 63.00 75.00 42.00 37.00 37.50 37.50 | |||||||||
140 | 49.90 60.88 47.50 56.90 52.50 48.67 51.38 49.50 48.00 | |||||||||
141 | 50.75 44.25 39.50 41.00 22.25 33.00 39.83 32.00 37.83 | |||||||||
142 | 51.00 63.50 38.00 | |||||||||
143 | 51.13 42.00 21.50 25.50 14.50 18.00 11.75 14.17 | |||||||||
144 | 51.38 36.50 21.17 38.00 28.00 38.75 52.50 35.17 23.00 | |||||||||
145 | 51.50 40.13 35.50 42.33 44.75 40.17 47.38 49.17 40.83 | |||||||||
146 | 51.50 46.00 37.75 49.83 32.23 38.75 37.75 31.50 15.50 | |||||||||
147 | 51.67 54.25 59.25 56.50 44.25 39.17 28.25 40.17 35.50 | |||||||||
148 | 51.83 53.50 51.25 50.50 51.00 57.33 51.50 38.50 40.75 | |||||||||
149 | 52.75 60.00 16.00 33.50 14.00 14.00 16.00 11.50 | |||||||||
150 | 56.13 69.83 66.88 69.83 46.75 42.50 43.17 39.25 27.00 | |||||||||
151 | 56.17 65.67 54.88 64.83 70.33 60.75 61.75 39.00 44.67 | |||||||||
152 | 56.38 53.50 53.63 55.40 47.00 51.00 49.67 34.50 34.50 | |||||||||
153 | 56.83 44.00 34.50 53.50 33.50 28.00 14.00 19.67 22.75 | |||||||||
154 | 57.00 59.50 58.33 63.63 57.00 61.33 54.10 52.00 52.17 | |||||||||
155 | 57.50 52.50 50.50 54.50 40.50 35.00 31.00 37.50 29.00 | |||||||||
156 | 60.00 38.25 45.00 44.75 51.00 50.00 36.63 35.25 29.00 | |||||||||
157 | 61.50 76.50 61.75 59.75 76.00 66.00 79.17 71.50 62.50 | |||||||||
158 | 62.50 75.00 78.00 67.50 50.75 33.25 36.50 24.83 15.75 | |||||||||
159 | 63.00 40.00 27.00 33.60 34.00 32.00 35.25 32.00 31.75 | |||||||||
160 | 63.50 64.50 61.50 66.50 62.50 88.75 65.00 60.00 72.50 | |||||||||
161 | 66.00 77.50 58.00 71.50 51.25 59.00 43.50 45.00 | |||||||||
162 | 68.50 49.67 35.33 41.63 41.00 36.17 44.17 42.50 42.00 | |||||||||
163 | 71.50 67.67 62.70 74.88 71.00 66.50 52.13 61.50 45.00 | |||||||||
164 | 72.50 61.50 48.10 57.00 53.75 57.50 62.67 50.83 67.75 | |||||||||
165 | 75.75 81.67 86.17 79.25 67.25 73.25 86.88 89.17 81.25 | |||||||||
166 | 78.00 94.00 88.33 96.17 95.00 87.00 106.83 97.83 90.25 | |||||||||
167 | 79.00 65.50 59.25 65.25 48.00 44.00 46.25 44.75 42.75 | |||||||||
168 | 80.50 92.00 70.00 75.00 67.50 66.50 64.33 94.83 89.00 | |||||||||
169 | 81.00 64.67 50.00 58.88 41.00 38.00 37.25 34.25 37.50 | |||||||||
170 | 82.13 83.38 59.00 56.67 54.00 46.25 48.00 41.83 34.75 | |||||||||
171 | ( only) 84.67 84.50 85.50 89.00 94.00 83.00 92.33 91.25 97.00 | |||||||||
172 | 85.33 54.00 42.00 55.75 48.13 44.00 44.25 45.75 36.00 | |||||||||
173 | 91.50 78.00 59.63 66.00 63.00 55.00 67.50 67.50 62.83 | |||||||||
174 | 94.50 102.67 94.38 93.75 94.75 88.83 103.63 95.50 96.83 | |||||||||
175 | 94.56 104.14 80.33 96.50 90.88 89.17 78.30 89.33 48.25 | |||||||||
176 | 95.33 107.00 95.50 103.75 98.50 93.50 99.83 82.83 91.50 | |||||||||
177 | 104.75 112.50 96.50 108.75 109.00 109.00 107.50 99.50 97.50 | |||||||||
178 | 105.00 115.50 97.50 114.75 97.50 99.75 93.25 91.50 83.67 |
Notes: pre-2005 data included Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
pre-2005 data included Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
pre-2007 data from Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
pre-2005 data from Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
External links
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2002.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2003.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2004.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2005.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2006.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2007.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2008.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2009.
- Reporters Without Borders. Worldwide press freedom index 2010.