Context

India’s ranking has fallen to 161 in the World Press Freedom Index-2023 in the list 180 countries.  In 2021, India’s ranking was 150, down from a ranking of 142 on the press freedom index. 

Key-findings of the Report

• Toppers: Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Portugal and Timor-Leste occupy the top 10 ranks in the World Press Freedom Index 2023.
• India’s neighbours: The relative rankings of some countries -- Pakistanrose up seven ranks, and was placed at 150^th, and Afghanistan was ranked 152nd.
• The World Press Freedom Index revealed that press freedom in 31 is in a “very serious situation”.
  • Two years ago, the number was 21 countries.
    

About the Report

• The World Press Freedom IndexReport is an annual report.
• It is published by Reporters Without Borders, a non-governmental organization that advocates for freedom of the press worldwide.

• The report ranks 180 countries based on their level of press freedom, taking into account factors such as censorship, media independence, and the safety of journalists.
• The World Press Freedom Index is based on five different factors that are used to calculate scores and rank countries. These five sub-indicators include the: 
  • Political indicator
  • Economic indicator
  • Legislative indicator
  • Social indicator
  • Security indicator