World Press Freedom Index Why low rank for India – Challenges in Indian context – Way forward (Prelims, Mains GS2
World Press Freedom Index
What is the World Press Freedom Index?
- Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders has published it every year since 2002.
- RSF is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).
- The Index ranks countries and regions based on the level of journalistic freedom they have.
Scoring Criteria
- based on a score assigned to each country or territory ranging from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best possible score (highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 being the worst.
- Five contextual indicators are used to assess each country or territory's score: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and safety.
Ranking of Countries:
- Top and Worst Performers:
- Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions.
- North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries.
- India has dropped eight places from 142nd to 150th place among 180 countries in 2022.
- Since 2016, when India was ranked 133, it has consistently dropped in the index.
- Increased "violence against journalists" and a "politically partisan media" are the reasons for the drop in ranking.
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