World Press Freedom Index 2021

The World Press Freedom Index 2021 was recently released.

About World Press Freedom Index:

The index is Published by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders since 2002.
The Index ranks 180 countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists.
- However, the index neither ranks public policies and nor is it an indicator of the quality of journalism in each country or region.
The index ranks 180 countries based on the following parameters, such as
- a) pluralism,
- b) media independence
- c) environment and self-censorship
- d) legislative framework
- e) Transparency
- f) Infrastructure, and
- g) Abuses.

Key Findings Related to India:

India ranks 142nd on the World Press Freedom Index 2021. The rank is the same as in 2020 after it had consistently slid down from 133 in 2016.
India continues to be counted among the countries classified “bad” for journalism.
Similarly, India is termed as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their jobs properly.

Other key Findings:

Norway tops the index, followed by Finland and Denmark.
China ranks 177 in the index. It is only above North Korea at 179 and Turkmenistan at 178.
India’s South Asian neighbourhood: Nepal is at 106, Sri Lanka at 127, Myanmar (before the coup) at 140, Pakistan at 145, and Bangladesh at 152.
The report shows that journalism is completely or partially blocked in 73% of all the countries on the index

Source: TH

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