World Press Freedom Index



The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the organization's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It 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. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the WPFI 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.

Methodology
The WPFI is partly based on a questionnaire that previously used seven general criteria: pluralism (measures the degree of representation of opinions in the media space), media independence, environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, infrastructure, and abuses.

The methodology for the WPFI was dramatically changed in 2022 from the methodology used from 2013 to 2021, and the thresholds for each categorisation have been shifted accordingly. The scores are now evaluated against five distinct categories: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.

Political context
This category aims to evaluate the autonomy of media and the degree of support to the media to keep government 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 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' safety in disseminating news without the risk of bodily harm, psychological or emotional distress or professional harm.

Violence against journalists, netizens, and media assistants, including abuses attributable to the state, armed militias, 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 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.