RSF Second World Press Freedom Ranking

Second world press freedom ranking
- Cuba second from last, just ahead of North Korea
- United States and Israel singled out for actions beyond their borders
From: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8247

Reporters Without Borders is publishing its second world press freedom ranking. As in 2002, the most catastrophic situation is to be found in Asia, especially North Korea, Burma and Laos. Second from last in the ranking, Cuba is today the world's biggest prison for journalists. The United States and Italy were given relatively low rankings.

Reporters Without Borders today publishes its second world press freedom ranking. Like last year, the most catastrophic situation is to found in Asia, with eight countries in the bottom ten : North Korea, Burma, Laos, China, Iran, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Bhutan. Independent news media are either non-existent in these countries, or are constantly repressed by the authorities. Journalists there work in extremely difficult conditions, with no freedom and no security. A number of them are imprisoned in Burma, China and Iran.

Cuba is in 165th position, second from last. Twenty-six independent journalists were arrested in the spring of 2003 and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 14 to 27 years, making Cuba the world's biggest prison for journalists. They were accused of writing articles for publication abroad that played into the hands of "imperialist interests." Eritrea, in 162nd position, has the worst situation in Africa. Privately-owned news media have been banned there for the past two years and 14 journalists are being held in undisclosed locations.

To compile this ranking, Reporters Without Borders asked journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists to fill out a questionnaire evaluating respect for press freedom in a particular country. A total of 166 countries are included in the ranking (as against 139 last year). The other countries were left out because of a lack of reliable, well-supported data.

...
N° Country Note
1 Finland 0,50
- Iceland 0,50
- Netherlands 0,50
- Norway 0,50
5 Denmark 1,00
- Trinidad and Tobago 1,00
7 Belgium 1,17
8 Germany 1,33
9 Sweden 1,50
10 Canada 1,83
11 Latvia 2,25
12 Czech Republic 2,50
- Estonia 2,50
- Slovakia 2,50
- Switzerland 2,50
16 Austria 2,75
17 Ireland 2,83
- Lithuania 2,83
- New Zealand 2,83
20 Slovenia 3,00
21 Hungary 3,33
- Jamaica 3,33
- South Africa 3,33
24 Costa Rica 3,83
25 Uruguay 4,00
26 France 4,17
27 United Kingdom 4,25
28 Portugal 5,17
29 Benin 5,25
30 Timor-Leste 5,50
31 Greece 6,00
- United States of America (American territory) 6,00
33 Poland 6,17
34 Albania 6,50
- Bulgaria 6,50
- Nicaragua 6,50
37 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6,83
- Chile 6,83
- El Salvador 6,83
40 Paraguay 7,17
41 Mauritius 7,25
42 Ecuador 7,67
- Spain 7,67
44 Israel (Israeli territory) 8,00
- Japan 8,00
46 Madagascar 8,17
47 Cape Verde 8,25
48 Ghana 8,75
49 South Korea 9,17
50 Australia 9,25
51 Bolivia 9,67
- Macedonia 9,67
53 Italy 9,75
- Panama 9,75
55 Peru 10,25
56 Hong-Kong 11,00
- Mali 11,00
- Namibia 11,00
59 Fiji 11,50
- Romania 11,50
61 Taïwan 12,00
62 Botswana 13,00
63 Congo 14,00
- Mozambique 14,00
65 Honduras 14,17
66 Senegal 14,50
67 Argentina 15,17
68 Niger 15,75
69 Croatia 16,50
- Tanzania 16,50
71 Brazil 16,75
72 Dominican Republic 17,00
73 Georgia 17,33
74 Mexico 17,67
75 Lesotho 17,75
76 Burkina Faso 18,00
77 Gambia 18,25
- Mongolia 18,25
79 Comoros 18,50
- Kenya 18,50
81 Cambodia 19,50
82 Thailand 19,67
83 Cyprus 20,83
84 Malawi 21,00
85 Serbia and Montenegro 21,33
86 Zambia 23,25
87 Sierra Leone 23,50
88 Chad 24,00
89 Sri Lanka 24,83
90 Armenia 25,17
91 Uganda 25,75
92 Burundi 26,25
93 Seychelles 26,75
94 Moldova 27,00
95 Togo 27,50
96 Venezuela 27,83
97 Angola 28,00
98 Cameroon 30,50
99 Guatemala 30,83
100 Haiti 31,00
101 Gabon 31,25
102 Kuwait 31,33
103 Nigeria 31,50
104 Kyrgyzstan 32,00
- Malaysia 32,00
106 Lebanon 32,50
107 Central African Republic 32,75
108 Algeria 33,00
109 Guinea 33,17
110 Egypt 34,25
- Indonesia 34,25
- Rwanda 34,25
113 Azerbaijan 34,50
- Tajikistan 34,50
115 Qatar 35,00
- Turkey 35,00
117 Bahrain 35,17
118 Guinea-Bissau 35,25
- Philippines 35,25
120 Djibouti 35,50
121 Mauritania 36,67
122 United Arab Emirates 37,00
- Jordan 37,00
124 Ethiopia 37,50
- Iraq 37,50
- Swaziland 37,50
127 Democratic Republic of Congo 38,50
128 India 39,00
- Pakistan 39,00
130 Palestinian Authority 39,25
131 Morocco 39,67
132 Liberia 40,00
- Ukraine 40,00
134 Afghanistan 40,17
135 United States of America (in Iraq) 41,00
136 Yemen 41,83
137 Côte d'Ivoire 42,17
138 Kazakhstan 42,50
139 Equatorial Guinea 44,75
140 Somalia 45,00
141 Zimbabwe 45,50
142 Sudan 45,75
143 Bangladesh 46,50
144 Singapore 47,33
145 Maldives 47,50
146 Israel (Occupied Territories) 49,00
147 Colombia 49,17
148 Russia 49,50
149 Tunisia 50,83
150 Nepal 51,50
151 Belarus 52,00
152 Oman 57,75
153 Libya 60,00
154 Uzbekistan 61,50
155 Syria 67,50
156 Saudi Arabia 71,50
157 Bhutan 77,33
158 Turkmenistan 82,83
159 Vietnam 89,17
160 Iran 89,33
161 China 91,25
162 Eritrea 91,50
163 Laos 94,83
164 Burma 95,50
165 Cuba 97,83
166 North Korea 99,50

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