Global press freedom sinks to 25-year low, watchdog warns

Press freedom around the world has sunk to its weakest level in a quarter-century, and the warning carries a blunt democratic message: when newsrooms are weakened, the public loses one of its clearest ways to verify power.

Reporters Without Borders said its World Press Freedom Index, first published in 2002, classified the global state of press freedom as a difficult situation for the first time in the index’s history. More than half of the world’s countries now fall into the difficult or very serious categories, while the share of the world’s population living in countries with good press freedom has collapsed from about 20% to less than 1%. The average score for all countries and territories has never been lower.

The decline is not evenly spread. Only seven countries in Northern Europe were rated good, with Norway ranked first. At the other end of the scale, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, China and Eritrea remained among the lowest-ranked countries, underscoring how tightly censorship, repression and state control still shape what people are allowed to know.

The United States landed at 64th place and was rated problematic. RSF said the country had already slipped from a fairly good situation to a problematic one in 2024, and pointed to Donald Trump’s systematic attacks on the press, including the detention and expulsion of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara and cuts to funding for U.S. international broadcasting. The ranking matters far beyond the press corps: when reporters are threatened, voters lose scrutiny of corruption, election conduct and the use of public power.

The collapse is also visible in places where democratic backsliding has accelerated. Niger recorded the steepest decline in 2026, falling 37 places to 120th. El Salvador has dropped 105 places since 2014, and Georgia has fallen 75 places since 2020. In each case, the index points to a narrowing space for reporting that can expose abuses, track money and document violence.

RSF also highlighted Saudi journalist Turki al-Jasser’s execution in 2025 as a unique occurrence in the world, a sign of how extreme the risks have become in some states. In a year when global instability, war coverage and economic pressure have battered newsrooms, the watchdog’s message was stark: press freedom is not just a media issue, it is a public check on who holds power and how that power is used.