Less than one percent of the world's people now live in a country where the press is free. This shocking statistic comes from the 2026 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders this week. The Paris-based organization has tracked press freedom in 180 countries for 25 years. When they started in 2002, about one in five people lived under a free press. Today, almost none do.
The average press-freedom score has fallen to its lowest level ever. More than half of all countries now sit in the two worst categories: difficult or very serious. The main problem is the law itself. RSF found that laws and courts are treating journalists worse than ever before. In 110 countries, the legal situation got worse between 2025 and 2026. The organization calls this the criminalisation of journalism, and it is happening even in democracies.
The United States fell to 64th place, its worst position ever. When RSF started ranking countries, the US was at 17th. The organisation blames the Trump administration for funding cuts to public broadcasters and lawsuits against news outlets. Norway holds first place for the tenth year, while Eritrea remains at the bottom. Syria climbed 36 places after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024. However, press freedom is declining in roughly 100 of the 180 countries studied. At least 13 journalists have been killed since January 2026, and 471 are detained worldwide.