PARIS — Reporters Without Borders released its 2026 World Press Freedom Index in Paris, finding that press freedom worldwide has fallen to its lowest level in the 25-year history of the ranking. For the first time, more than half of the world's countries are classified as "difficult" or "very serious" for press freedom, and the average score across all countries and territories surveyed has never been lower.

The share of the world's population living in a country rated "good" for press freedom has fallen from 20 percent to less than one percent. Only seven countries in Northern Europe, led by Norway, are rated with a "good" press freedom situation. The index, published annually by the organization founded in France in 1985, covers 180 countries and territories using a five-point scale ranging from "very serious" to "good."

"Although attacks on the right to information are more diverse and sophisticated, their perpetrators are now operating in plain sight," RSF Editorial Director Anne Bocande said. "Inaction is a form of endorsement."

The United States is ranked 64th with a "problematic" score, after falling in 2024 from a "fairly good" to a "problematic" press freedom situation. RSF said President Trump has implemented a systematic policy of attacking journalists, and pointed to drastic cuts to funding for U.S. international broadcasting. Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara was detained and later expelled from the United States after denouncing the arrest of migrants.

Russia is ranked 172nd, and as of April 2026 held 48 journalists behind bars. RSF said Russia uses laws designed to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism to restrict press freedom. Saudi Arabia executed a journalist in 2025. Niger, led by a military junta, is ranked 120th in 2026, a drop of 37 places.

France is ranked 25th with a "satisfactory" score. Argentina is ranked 98th, a drop of 11 places, while El Salvador is ranked 143rd, down 105 places since 2014. Israel is ranked 116th; since October 2023, more than 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, including at least 70 who were slain while carrying out their work. Iran is ranked 177th, Egypt 169th, Turkiye 163rd, India 157th, Hong Kong 140th, and Georgia 135th. According to RSF, 110 out of 180 countries have criminalised media workers in various ways.