Reporters Without Borders has published its annual Press Freedom Index. European countries score highest: Finland tops the index, Netherlands is second and Norway is third. Sweden instead is down from fifth to eighth place. The United States has gone from 49th to 41st place. The worst regions for the press and freedom of expression are The Middle East and North Africa.

Overall  there has been a deep decline in respect for media freedom at both the global and regional levels. There are many reasons behind this, such as the increasingly authoritarian tendencies of governments, tighter government control of state-owned media, and unstable security situations around the world.

Find the full RSF Press Freedom Index here.

Picture: Newspapers B&W (3) by Jon S, licence: CC BY 2.0