The 2026 World Press Freedom Index has been published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to the report, Afghanistan ranks 175th out of 180 countries, alongside nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, North Korea, and Eritrea, all of which are at the bottom of the press freedom table. The report shows that press freedom worldwide has fallen to its lowest level in the past 25 years, with more than half of countries classified as being in a “difficult” or “very serious” situation. The report expresses concern that this trend has been intensified by a decline in the legal index, increased criminalization of journalism, widespread use of national security laws, and systematic repression of media in authoritarian regimes and even in some democracies.
In the latest World Press Freedom Index for 2026 published by RSF, Afghanistan is ranked 175th among 180 countries. According to the report, the Taliban continue to enforce a broad set of rules to control, suppress any form of critical oversight, and impose their own propaganda. Afghanistan held the same position last year, and the report indicates that this reflects the critical condition of the media in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. In this ranking, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, North Korea, and Eritrea follow Afghanistan, respectively.
The report also states that Iran has dropped one place to rank 177 and, due to regime repression as well as the war involving the United States and Israel on its territory, remains near the bottom of the ranking.
The report further notes that India, ranked 157th, has seen an increase in judicial harassment of independent media through criminal laws such as defamation and national security laws, which directly target journalists.
According to the report, Pakistan is ranked 153rd. It states that the press faces a continuous wave of restrictions aimed at controlling and, in some cases, suppressing the publication of journalistic content amid a tense political environment.
The report indicates that in 21 out of 32 countries and territories assessed in the Asia-Pacific region, the state of press freedom is classified as “difficult” or “very serious.” According to the report, this region is among the most repressive in the world, and its situation continues to deteriorate. It also emphasizes that censorship and propaganda tactics used by authoritarian regimes, particularly China, are now expanding beyond their borders.
According to the report, North Korea, ranked 179th, represents the most extreme case and remains one of the most closed regimes in the world. The report stresses that independent journalism is completely banned in the country, and only regime propaganda is allowed to be published.
Reporters Without Borders stated in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index that press freedom is at its lowest level in the past 25 years. The organization emphasized that more than half of the world’s countries now fall into the categories of “difficult” or “very serious” in terms of press freedom. According to the report, over the past 25 years, the average score of all 180 countries and territories in this ranking has never been so low.
The report states that the legal index experienced the greatest decline last year. According to the report, this is a clear sign of the growing criminalization of journalism worldwide. It adds that the United States has dropped seven places, while several Latin American countries have been caught in a deepening spiral of violence and repression.
Reporters Without Borders stated that the average score for all countries and regions worldwide has never been so low. According to the report, for the first time in the 25-year history of this index, more than half of the world’s countries are now categorized as “difficult” or “very serious” in terms of press freedom.
The report notes that among the five indicators used to assess press freedom worldwide, including economic, legal, security, political, and social environments for journalism, the legal indicator has experienced the sharpest decline in 2026.
The report states that Norway has retained the top position in press freedom for the tenth consecutive year, while Eritrea has ranked last for the third consecutive year. According to the report, Syria has recorded the greatest improvement in press freedom among all countries and regions in the 2026 index, rising 36 places in the ranking following the fall of Assad.
The report states that since October 2023, more than 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, including at least 70 who lost their lives while performing their professional duties.
According to the report, press freedom has declined by five places in Sudan and by nine places in South Sudan. It also states that in other parts of the world, the situation of press freedom has not changed significantly, as authoritarian regimes continue to keep it in a state of stagnation.
The report emphasizes that Eastern Europe and the Middle East, as in the past 25 years, remain the most dangerous regions in the world for journalists.
According to the report, this is reflected in the ranking of Russia under the control of Vladimir Putin, a country that continues its aggressive war in Ukraine and remains among the worst countries in terms of press freedom, ranking 172nd out of 180.
Misuse of laws and national interests to suppress the media
Reporters Without Borders stated that the decline in the legal index is due to the misuse of national security laws. The report emphasizes that twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, the expansion of defense secrecy and national security has become a tool to prohibit coverage of issues related to the public interest in many countries. According to RSF, this trend, particularly common in authoritarian regimes, has also spread to democracies and is often accompanied by abusive applications of the law against journalists, especially under the pretext of combating terrorism.
The report states that as of April 13, Sandra Muhoza was the only female journalist detained in the Great Lakes region of Africa in 2026; she is being prosecuted in Burundi on charges of “undermining territorial integrity,” an accusation that is regularly used in the region. It also notes that in Ethiopia, four journalists have been imprisoned for three years on terrorism-related charges.
According to the report, during the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accusations such as “spreading false information,” “insulting the president,” and “demeaning state institutions” are regularly used to suppress journalism and imprison media workers.
The report states that Donald Trump, President of the United States, has turned his repeated attacks on the press and journalists into a systematic policy, pushing the United States down to 64th place, a drop of seven positions.
The report further notes that the sharp reduction in the workforce of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has had global consequences, leading to the closure, suspension, and downsizing of international media outlets such as Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and Radio Free Asia (RFA) in countries where these outlets were among the few reliable sources of information.
The report emphasizes that Javier Milei and Nayib Bukele, among the strongest supporters of Donald Trump in Latin America, have modeled their approach to the media on the White House, resulting in unexpectedly similar outcomes.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
شاخص جهانی آزادی مطبوعات؛ افغانستان همچنان در پایینترین رده جدول قرار دارد
