World Press Freedom Index 2025: Where India ranks and how the rest of the world compares
Find out how Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) evaluates global press freedom and why this matters. Explore the list of top countries on the World Press Freedom Index 2025
The media often reflects the voice of a nation. How freely it speaks often reveals a great deal about the country itself. Whether it's questioning power or reporting important stories, free media is the backbone of a functioning democracy.
The press and media are central in shaping public opinion and holding those in power accountable. But how free is the press worldwide? This is where the World Press Freedom Index plays an important role. Every year, Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), also known as Reporters Without Borders, analyses the level of freedom journalists enjoy in over 180 countries. It provides us with details on the state of media independence, the safety of journalists, and the pressures they face while reporting.
Understanding where your country stands on this global media ranking list can be eye-opening. It reveals more than just numbers—it reflects the quality of public discourse and access to trustworthy information.
In this post, we’ll discuss the World Press Freedom Index for the top 20 countries, challenges to global press freedom, and the Indian media ranking.
What is the World Press Freedom Index?
The World Press Freedom Index is a yearly report published by RSF, a Paris-based international organisation that’s been defending press rights since 1985. The RSF index evaluates press freedom worldwide by examining various aspects, including media independence, journalist safety, and legal protections.
Countries are scored based on a set of indicators and placed into five categories—good, satisfactory, problematic, difficult, and very serious. A higher score reflects stronger media freedom and a “good” category. The scale tells us where journalists are free to report without fear, and where censorship, harassment, or political pressure are more common.
The RSF index is widely followed by researchers, media outlets, and policymakers who track global press freedom. For countries like India, where the media plays a strong role in shaping daily conversations, the media ranking sparks important debates about liberty, responsibility, credibility, and transparency in journalism.
Countries ranked by the World Press Freedom Index
Here’s the list of the top 20 countries based on their RSF index ranking, so far in 2025:
Rank
Country
Global score
Economic score
1
Norway
92.31
87.32
2
Estonia
89.46
79.40
3
Netherlands
88.64
83.85
4
Sweden
88.13
82.71
5
Finland
87.18
80.54
6
Denmark
86.93
78.46
7
Ireland
86.92
78.77
8
Portugal
84.26
65.83
9
Switzerland
83.98
73.21
10
Czechia
83.96
65.41
11
Germany
83.85
77.90
12
Liechtenstein
83.42
67.33
13
Luxembourg
83.04
67.99
14
Lithuania
82.27
68.84
15
Latvia
81.82
70.35
16
New Zealand
81.37
72.15
17
Iceland
81.36
65.71
18
Belgium
80.12
69.15
19
Trinidad and Tobago
79.71
69.97
20
United Kingdom
78.89
68.43
What are the main indicators that determine this index?
The RSI considers five key indicators while compiling the World Press Freedom Index report:
Political indicator: RSI evaluates how much government and political forces respect media autonomy, accept different editorial voices, and support journalism.
Sociocultural indicator: The RSI reviews discrimination or pressure based on gender, caste, religion, or class, and whether certain topics are culturally off-limits.
Economic indicator: RSI evaluates pressures from government funding models, advertiser influence, owners pushing their business agendas, and the broader media market.
Legal or legislative indicator: It considers censorship laws, the ability to protect sources, access to information, and whether journalists face threats of legal retaliation for their work.
Safety or security indicator: Covers physical threats, harassment, surveillance, job loss, or emotional distress caused by intimidation or false allegations.
These measures shape the annual world media ranking list. Based on these evaluations, the 2025 RSI index report shows that Norway leads with a global score of 92.31, while Eritrea ranks last with a score of 11.32.
Source | The RSF Index: World Press Freedom Index report on economic score
Amidst these rankings, the economic indicator recorded its sharpest decline yet, making 2025 one of the most challenging years for global press freedom. Financial pressure on independent media has intensified globally, impacting the overall scores and rankings.
Challenges to the global press freedom index
The World Press Freedom Index highlights a mix of structural and political pressures that continue to strain global press freedom:
Editorial interference is a widespread concern, with media owners routinely involved in content decisions. This undermines journalistic independence, especially where ownership is politically aligned.
Restrictive laws targeting foreign-funded media or so-called “anti-state” content are shrinking the space for independent journalism. For this reason, many countries have seen steep drops in the world media ranking list.
The RSF index indicates significant setbacks in India, UAE, Vietnam, and other countries, where weakened economies and political unrest significantly impact press operations.
Concentrated media ownership is leading many outlets to engage in self-censorship. Even countries with relatively high rankings, such as Australia and France, face challenges similar to those seen in the Indian media environment.
Where does India rank?
The Indian media's ranking in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index was 151, with a global score of 32.96, indicating a sharp decline in several areas of press freedom. The RSF index scores India 24.30 in political context, 32.38 in social context, and 31.30 in security—all contributing to its current standing on the world media ranking list.
The Indian media continues to face challenges such as concentrated ownership, political influence, and growing safety concerns for journalists. RSF notes that over 4 billion people (that’s half the world) now live in countries with “very serious” press freedom conditions—and India, with its vast population and influential media presence, is part of that category.