Press Freedom Index 2022

The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002. RSF is an independent NGO based in Paris. It is the 20th edition of this index. It intends to reflect the degree of freedom of journalists and news organizations. The Index ranks countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. However, it is not an indicator of the quality of journalism. The index of a country is evaluated on the basis of five indicators. Which are as follows:

Political context
Legal framework
Economic context
Social and cultural context
Safety

Scoring

The Index’s rankings are based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 that is assigned to each country with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst. More will the score worsens will the condition of freedom of the Press.

Top Performers:

Norway (1^st) Denmark (2^nd), Sweden (3^rd) Estonia (4^th), and Finland (5^th) grabbed the top positions.

Worst Performers:

Turkmenistan (177^th) Iran (178) Eritrea (179) North Korea(180)
North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of 180 countries. India placed 150^th, China at 175^th, and Russia at 155^th position. The index placed Pakistan in the 157^th position, Nepal 76^th, Sri Lanka in ^{146th, Bangladesh 162nd, and Myanmar in} the 176^th position.

Performance of India:

India has fallen eight places from 142^nd to 150^th in 2022 among the 180 countries. India’s position has been consistently falling in the index since 2016when it was ranked 133.
Reasons behind the Fall in Ranking of India:

The reasons behind the fall in the ranking are the increased “violence against journalists” and a “politically partisan media”. According to the index the media in India, among nations reputed to be more democratic, faces pressure from “increasingly authoritarian and/or nationalist governments”.

According to the report, India is also one of the world’s most dangerous countries for media persons. Journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence including police violence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.