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has intensified in a spectacular mimicry of Russian repressive methods , especially in Belarus ( down 10 to 167th ), Georgia ( 103rd ), Kyrgyzstan ( 120th ), and Azerbaijan ( down 13 to 164th ). Kremlin influence has reached as far as Serbia ( down seven to 98th ), where pro-government media carry Russian propaganda and the authorities threaten exiled Russian journalists . Russia ( 162nd ), where Vladimir Putin was unsurprisingly reelected in 2024 , continues to wage a war in Ukraine ( 61st ) that has had a big impact on the media ecosystem and journalists ’ safety .
The overall decline in the political indicator has also affected the trio at the top of the World Press Freedom Index . Norway , still in first place , has seen a fall in its political score , and Ireland ( 8th ), where politicians have subjected media outlets to judicial intimidation , has ceded its leading position in the European Union to Denmark ( 2nd ), followed by Sweden ( 3rd ).
The three Asian countries at the bottom of last year ’ s Index – Vietnam , China and North Korea – have ceded their positions to three countries whose political scores have plummeted : Afghanistan ( down 44 in the political ranking ), which has persecuted journalists incessantly since the Taliban returned to power ; Syria ( down eight in the political ranking ); and Eritrea ( down nine in the political ranking ), which is now last in both the political and overall rankings . The last two countries have become lawless zones for the media , with a record number of journalists detained , missing or held hostage .
The Maghreb - Middle East region is the one with the worst situation in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index . It is followed by the Asia-Pacific region , where journalism is suffocating under the weight of authoritarian governments . Africa , although less than 10 % of the region is in a “ very serious ” situation , almost half of the countries are in a “ difficult ” situation .
The countries where press freedom is “ good ” are all in Europe , and more specifically within the European Union , which has adopted its first media freedom law ( EMFA ). Ireland has dropped out of the Index ’ s top three countries , replaced by Sweden , while Germany is now one of the top ten countries . Press freedom is nonetheless being put to the test in Hungary , Malta and Greece , the three lowest-ranked EU countries . Further east in Europe , the conditions for practising journalism are deteriorating due to the scale of disinformation and censorship of media outlets falsely accused of undermining national security or terrorism . This is the case in Russia ( 162nd ), Belarus ( 167th ) and Turkmenistan ( 175th ), while in Georgia ( down 26 to 103rd ), the ruling party is cultivating a rapprochement with Moscow . As a result of improvements in its security indicator – fewer journalists killed – and its political
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