World Pressfreedom Index 2024

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) releases a yearly list called the World Press Freedom Index. In 2024, India's position in this list got a bit better, moving from 161 to 159 among 180 places. Even though India's rank improved, its overall score dropped from 36.62 to 31.28. This means that while India did better compared to other countries, its own situation regarding press freedom got a little worse. The government doesn't usually take these international rankings about freedom in India very seriously. They often say it's just other countries trying to spread false information.

What is WPFI?

The WPFI is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by RSF (a France-based international NGO) since 2002. It only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.

The press freedom questionnaire covers five categories - political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and security. Thus, the index intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organizations, and netizens have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom.

The Best and Worst

The overall decline in the political indicator has affected the trio at the top of the WPFI.

Norway, still in first place, has seen a fall in its political score, and Ireland (8th), where politicians have subjected media outlets to judicial intimidation, has ceded its leading position in the EU to Denmark (2nd), followed by Sweden (3rd).

The three Asian countries at the bottom of last year’s Index - Vietnam, China, and North Korea - have ceded their positions to Afghanistan; Syria; and Eritrea (last). Among the countries going to the polls this year, the U.S. was the most concerning in terms of press freedoms.

Position of India

As per the recent index, India has been ranked in the 159th position, which is two ranks higher than last year, however, India still lags behind countries like Turkey, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, which are ranked at 158, 152, and 150, respectively.

Top 10 countries