The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of

countries A country is a distinct part of the Earth, world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, List of states with limited r ...

compiled and published by

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

(RSF) since 2002 based upon the

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

's own assessment of the countries'

press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

records in the previous year. It intends to reflect the degree of

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

that

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s, news organizations, and

netizen The term ''netizen'' is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

s have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom. Reporters Without Borders notes that the WPFI only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

violations in general.How the index was compiled
, Reporters Without Borders, 2013

Methodology

The WPFI is partly based on a

questionnaire A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions (or other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of ...

.2022 World Press Freedom Index, Methodology
Reporters Without Borders, 2022 The scores are evaluated against five distinct categories: political context,

legal framework A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, Procedural law, procedural steps, or Test (law), test, often established through precedent in the common law, through which judgments can be determined in a given legal case. For example, a doctrine ...

, economic context, sociocultural context and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. The

methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

for the WPFI was dramatically changed in 2022. The thresholds for each categorisation have been shifted accordingly. The methodology from 2013 to 2021 used seven general criteria: pluralism (measures the degree of representation of opinions in the media space), media independence, environment and

self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...

, legislative framework, transparency,

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

, and abuses.

Political context

This category aims to evaluate the

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

of media and the degree of support to the media to keep

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and officials accountable.

Legal framework

The questionnaire takes account of the legal framework for the media (including penalties for press offences, the existence of a

state monopoly In economics, a government monopoly or public monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency or government corporation is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law. It is a monopoly ...

for certain kinds of media and how the media are regulated) and the level of independence of the public media. It also includes violations of the free flow of information on the Internet.

Economic context

This category aims to evaluate economic constraints put on the press by carrying out its mission.

Sociocultural context

This category aims to evaluate the social and cultural constraints put on journalists to self-censor against covering specific issues because it would be in opposition to the predominant culture of a country.

Safety

This category aims to evaluate journalists'

in disseminating

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

without the risk of bodily harm, psychological or emotional distress or professional harm.

Violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

against journalists, netizens, and media assistants, including abuses attributable to the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, armed

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

s, clandestine organizations or pressure groups, are monitored by RSF staff during the year and are also part of the final score. A higher score on the report corresponds to greater freedom of the press as reported by the organization. The questionnaire is sent to Reporters Without Borders's partner organizations: 18

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

non-governmental organizations located in five continents, its 150 correspondents around the world and journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists.

Rankings and scores by country or places

Countries are ranked on a scale from 0–100 points.

References

External links

Full list of rankings from the Press Freedom Index

About the World Press Freedom Index
{{Politics country lists 2002 introductions 2002 establishments International rankings Freedom of the press Journalism lists