World Press Freedom Index 2013

Reporters Without Borders’ annual World Press Freedom Index measures the level of freedom of information in nearly 180 countries. The rankings reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organizations and netizens enjoy in each country and the efforts made by the authorities to protect this freedom. In the 2013 index, Reporters Without Borders found that the rank of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments. Rather, this year’s report is a reflection of governments’ attitudes towards press freedom in the medium to long term. Finland, the Netherlands and Norway topped the list as the countries that most respect media freedoms, whereas Turkmenistan, North Korea an Eritrea occupied the three worst spots in the index. Iran was ranked among the ten worst countries on the list.