Press Freedom by Country

Press Freedom by country, shown on a world map with full country rankings. Data covers 176 countries for 2021, sourced from Our World in Data. See also Corruption Perception and Democracy Index.

Press Freedom reaches its highest value in Eritrea, at 81.5, and its lowest in Norway, at 6.7.

The average across 176 countries and territories is 35.3 for 2021. That makes the Eritrea figure roughly 12 times the Norway figure.

HighestEritrea81.5

LowestNorway6.7

Average35.3176 countries

Year2021latest available

On this index a LOWER score means more press freedom: Norway (6.7) is the freest country in the data, Eritrea (81.5) the most restricted.

Top 10 countries

Eritrea81.5

North Korea81.3

Turkmenistan80

China78.7

Djibouti78.6

Vietnam78.5

Iran72.7

Syria70.6

Laos70.6

Cuba63.9

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Press Freedom: full country ranking (2021)

#	Country	Press Freedom
1	Eritrea	81.5
2	North Korea	81.3
3	Turkmenistan	80
4	China	78.7
5	Djibouti	78.6
6	Vietnam	78.5
7	Iran	72.7
8	Syria	70.6
9	Laos	70.6
10	Cuba	63.9
11	Saudi Arabia	62.7
12	Yemen	62.4
13	Bahrain	61.1
14	Azerbaijan	58.8
15	Egypt	56.2
16	Libya	55.7
17	Equatorial Guinea	55.7
18	Iraq	55.6
19	Tajikistan	55.5
20	Somalia	55.5
21	Singapore	55.2
22	Sudan	52.9
23	Belarus	50.8
24	Uzbekistan	50.7
25	Rwanda	50.7
26	Kazakhstan	50.3
27	Brunei	49.9
28	Turkey	49.8
29	Bangladesh	49.7
30	Honduras	49.4
31	Russia	48.7
32	Democratic Republic of Congo	48.6
33	Venezuela	47.6
34	Burundi	47.6
35	Algeria	47.3
36	Pakistan	46.9
37	Cambodia	46.8
38	Mexico	46.7
39	India	46.6
40	Eswatini	46.3
41	Myanmar	46.1
42	South Sudan	45.8
43	Philippines	45.6
44	Thailand	45.2
45	Morocco	43.9
46	Cameroon	43.8
47	Colombia	43.7
48	Oman	43.4
49	Palestine	43.2
50	United Arab Emirates	43.1
51	Zimbabwe	43.1
52	Jordan	42.9
53	Qatar	42.6
54	Sri Lanka	42.2
55	Central African Republic	41.9
56	Uganda	41.2
57	Tanzania	40.7
58	Chad	40.2
59	Afghanistan	40.2
60	Nicaragua	40
61	Nigeria	39.7
62	Malaysia	39.5
63	Congo	38.8
64	Gabon	38.6
65	Guatemala	38.5
66	Zambia	38.2
67	Benin	38.2
68	Indonesia	37.4
69	Bulgaria	37.3
70	Brazil	36.3
71	Bolivia	35.5
72	Guinea	35.4
73	Mozambique	35.4
74	Lebanon	34.9
75	Nepal	34.6
76	Kuwait	34.4
77	Montenegro	34.3
78	Angola	34.1
79	Kenya	33.7
80	Ethiopia	33.6
81	Paraguay	33.5
82	Mali	33.5
83	Liberia	33.4
84	Ukraine	33
85	Ecuador	32.8
86	Guinea-Bissau	32.7
87	Mauritania	32.3
88	Serbia	32
89	Hungary	31.8
90	Peru	31.7
91	North Macedonia	31.7
92	Lesotho	31.6
93	Moldova	31.6
94	Haiti	31.1
95	Israel	30.9
96	Gambia	30.8
97	Comoros	30.7
98	Albania	30.6
99	El Salvador	30.5
100	Malta	30.5
101	Hong Kong	30.4
102	Kyrgyzstan	30.4
103	Panama	29.9
104	Sierra Leone	29.6
105	Togo	29.6
106	Tunisia	29.5
107	Maldives	29.1
108	East Timor	29.1
109	Greece	29
110	Argentina	29
111	Mongolia	29
112	Japan	28.9
113	Cote d'Ivoire	28.9
114	Bhutan	28.9
115	Poland	28.8
116	Armenia	28.8
117	Malawi	28.8
118	Mauritius	28.7
119	Georgia	28.6
120	Niger	28.4
121	Bosnia and Herzegovina	28.3
122	Madagascar	28.2
123	Croatia	28
124	Fiji	27.9
125	Chile	27.9
126	Belize	27.6
127	Seychelles	25.7
128	Guyana	25.6
129	Dominican Republic	25.6
130	Senegal	25.2
131	Romania	24.9
132	Papua New Guinea	24.9
133	Tonga	24.6
134	United States	23.9
135	South Korea	23.4
136	Italy	23.4
137	Czechia	23.4
138	Andorra	23.3
139	Botswana	23.3
140	Burkina Faso	23.2
141	Slovenia	23.1
142	Slovakia	23
143	France	22.6
144	South Africa	21.6
145	United Kingdom	21.6
146	Trinidad and Tobago	21.6
147	Ghana	21.3
148	Spain	20.4
149	Lithuania	20.2
150	Cape Verde	20.1
151	Cyprus	19.9
152	Australia	19.8
153	Namibia	19.7
154	Liechtenstein	19.5
155	Latvia	19.3
156	Samoa	19.2
157	Luxembourg	17.6
158	Suriname	17
159	Uruguay	16.4
160	Austria	16.3
161	Iceland	15.4
162	Canada	15.3
163	Estonia	15.3
164	Germany	15.2
165	Ireland	11.9
166	Belgium	11.7
167	Switzerland	10.6
168	Portugal	10.1
169	New Zealand	10
170	Jamaica	10
171	Netherlands	9.7
172	Costa Rica	8.8
173	Denmark	8.6
174	Sweden	7.2
175	Finland	7
176	Norway	6.7

Source: Our World in Data. Latest available year: 2021. Values shown are the most recent reported figure per country.

Press Freedom by Country

Top 10 countries

Press Freedom: full country ranking (2021)

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