BW Explains: World Press Freedom Index & India's Performance

India slipped 16 places in the World Press Freedom Index 2023 released by Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which publishes a yearly report on press freedom in countries across the world. India ranks 161 out of 180 countries.

What is the evaluation method?

World Press Freedom Index, which assesses the environment for journalism in 180 countries and territories and is released on World Press Freedom Day (3 May) said three out of ten countries have adequate journalism environments, while the other seven have "bad" environments the situation is "very serious" in 31 countries, "difficult" in 42, "problematic" in 55, and "good" or "satisfactory" in 52.

Ranks of top countries & bottom three countries

For the seventh year in a row, Norway has the highest ranking. Unusually, a non-Nordic nation, namely Ireland, is ranked second, ahead of Denmark, which dropped one position to third. The Netherlands has climbed 22 spots to rank sixth, regaining the spot it held in 2021 before the death of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries.

The bottom three spots are all taken by Asian nations: North Korea (180th),  China (down 4 spots at 179th), and Vietnam (178th).

What global media watchdog has to say about India's free fall?

"The purchase of media outlets by oligarchs with strong ties to political figures is another phenomena that dangerously hinders the free flow of information.

This is especially true in "hybrid" governments like India (161), where wealthy businesspeople connected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi now own every major media outlet. At the same time, Modi has an army of supporters who track down all online reporting regarded as critical of the government and wage horrific harassment campaigns against the sources. Caught between these two forms of extreme pressure, many journalists are, in practice, forced to censor themselves".

Performance of India's neighbouring countries

Afghanistan (152nd) where the Taliban is in power, Bhutan (90th),  Pakistan (150th),  Sri Lanka (135th) and Thailand (106th).

What RSF Secretary-General said about the Index?

"The World Press Freedom Index shows enormous volatility in situations, with major rises and falls and unprecedented changes, such as Brazil’s 18-place rise and Senegal’s 31-place fall. This instability is the result of increased aggressiveness on the part of the authorities in many countries and growing animosity towards journalists on social media and in the physical world. The volatility is also the consequence of growth in the fake content industry, which produces and distributes disinformation and provides the tools for manufacturing it".