Reporters without Borders has released the World press freedom Index 2022. It assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories. India’s ranking in the Index has fallen down 150th position from the last year’s 142nd rank.
Key points of the Index
- Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th), and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories.
- India’s ranking in the Index has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank.
- The ranking of India’s neighbors, except that of Nepal, has also slid down, with the index placing. Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.
- Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd, and Maynmar at 176th position.
- Russia was placed at 155th position, down from 150th last year, while China climbed up by two positions with the Reporters Without Borders placing it at 175th position. Last year, China was placed in the 177th position.
- The invasion of Ukraine (106th) by Russia (155th) at the end of February reflects this process, as the physical conflict was preceded by a propaganda war.
India slips 8 spots to 150
India’s ranking fell from 133 in 2016 to 150 in 2022, of 180 countries. In the 2021 report, India was listed under countries considered “bad” for journalism and was listed among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. It was placed at 142nd rank out of 180 countries. Abuses in real-time in India: 1 journalist was killed since Jan 2022 and 13 journalists in prison.
