THE PRESS FREEDOM MAP 2018

 

WHAT DOES IT MEASURE?

The Index ranks 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists. It is a snapshot of the media freedom situation based on an evaluation of pluralism, independence of the media, quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each country. It does not rank public policies even if governments obviously have a major impact on their country’s ranking. Nor is it an indicator of the quality of journalism in each country.

THE GLOBAL INDICATOR AND REGIONAL INDICATORS

Along with the Index, RSF calculates a global indicator and regional indicators that evaluate the overall performance of countries (in the world and in each region) as regards media freedom. It is an absolute measure that complements the Index’s comparative rankings. The global indicator is the average of the regional indicators, each of which is obtained by averaging the scores of all the countries in the region, weighted according to their population as given by the World Bank.

HOW THE INDEX IS COMPILED

The degree of freedom available to journalists in 180 countries is determined by pooling the responses of experts to a questionnaire devised by RSF. This qualitative analysis is combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated. The criteria used in the questionnaire are pluralism, media independence, media environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information.

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THE QUESTIONNAIRE

To compile the Index, RSF has developed an online questionnaire focusing on the subjects specified above. This year’s questionnaire was slightly less detailed that in the past but, thanks to statistical analysis, the data gathered continued to permit comparison with previous years.

Translated into 20 languages including English, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Indonesian and Korean, the questionnaire is sent to journalists, media lawyers, researchers and other media specialists selected by RSF in the 180 countries covered by the Index. Each country is assigned a score based on the answers provided by these experts and on the figures for acts of violence and abuses against journalists during the previous year.

THE DATA ON ABUSES

A team of in-house specialists, each assigned to a different geographical region, keeps a detailed tally of abuses and violence against journalists and media outlets. These reasearchers also rely on a network of correspondents in 130 countries. The Abuses indicator for each country is calculated on the basis of the data about the intensity of abuses and violence against media actors during the period evaluated. This quantitative indicator is then used to weight the qualitative analysis of the situation in the country based on the replies to the questionnaires.

THE PRESS FREEDOM MAP

The press freedom map, which is distributed in print and digital versions, offers a visual overview of the sitution in each country in the Index. The colour categories are assigned as follows: good (white), fairly good (yellow), problematic (yellow), bad (red) and very bad (black).

 

 

[caption id="attachment_1057" align="alignnone" width="638"] THE PRESS FREEDOM MAP 2018[/caption]

 

The Index

ISO	Rank2018
AFG	118
AGO	121
ALB	75
AND	37
ARE	128
ARG	52
ARM	80
AUS	19
AUT	11
AZE	163
BDI	159
BEL	7
BEN	84
BFA	41
BGD	146
BGR	111
BHR	166
BIH	62
BLR	155
BLZ	47
BOL	110
BRA	102
BRN	153
BTN	94
BWA	48
CAF	112
CAN	18
CHE	5
CHL	38
CHN	176
CIV	82
CMR	129
COD	154
COG	114
COL	130
COM	49
CPV	29
CRI	10
CTU	77
CUB	172
CYP	25
CZE	34
DEU	15
DJI	173
DNK	9
DOM	59
DZA	136
ECU	92
EGY	161
ERI	179
ESP	31
EST	12
ETH	150
FIN	4
FJI	57
FRA	33
GAB	108
GBR	40
GEO	61
GHA	23
GIN	104
GMB	122
GNB	83
GNQ	171
GRC	74
GTM	116
GUY	55
HKG	70
HND	141
HRV	69
HTI	60
HUN	73
IDN	124
IND	138
IRL	16
IRN	164
IRQ	160
ISL	13
ISR	87
ITA	46
JAM	6
JOR	132
JPN	67
KAZ	158
KEN	96
KGZ	98
KHM	142
KOR	43
KWT	105
LAO	170
LBN	100
LBR	89
LBY	162
LIE	30
LKA	131
LSO	68
LTU	36
LUX	17
LVA	24
MAR	135
MDA	81
MDG	54
MDV	120
MEX	147
MKD	109
MLI	115
MLT	65
MMR	137
MNE	103
MNG	71
MOZ	99
MRT	72
MUS	56
MWI	64
MYS	145
NAM	26
NER	63
NGA	119
NIC	90
NLD	3
NOR	1
NPL	106
NZL	8
OMN	127
PAK	139
PAN	91
PER	88
PHL	133
PNG	53
POL	58
PRK	180
PRT	14
PRY	107
PSE	134
QAT	125
ROU	44
RUS	148
RWA	156
SAU	169
SDN	174
SEN	50
SGP	151
SLE	79
SLV	66
SOM	168
SRB	76
SSD	144
SUR	21
SVK	27
SVN	32
SWE	2
SWZ	152
SYC	85
SYR	177
TCD	123
TGO	86
THA	140
TJK	149
TKM	178
TLS	95
TON	51
TTO	39
TUN	97
TUR	157
TWN	42
TZA	93
UGA	117
UKR	101
URY	20
USA	45
UZB	165
VEN	143
VNM	175
WSM	22
XCD	35
XKO	78
YEM	167
ZAF	28
ZMB	113
ZWE	126

 

HOW THE INDEX IS COMPILED

The degree of freedom available to journalists in 180 countries is determined by pooling the responses of experts to a questionnaire devised by RSF. This qualitative analysis is combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated. The criteria evaluated in the questionnaire are pluralism, media independence, media environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information.