The ranking is based on five indicators: political context, legal framework, economic environment for media, sociocultural context, and safety.
According to the study, a «difficult» or «very serious» situation for media workers is observed in 90 out of 180 monitored countries and territories. In 160 out of 180 monitored countries, media cannot operate stably at all or can only with difficulty. In nearly a third of countries, editorial offices closed for economic reasons, often preceded by pressure from authorities.
In 46 states, media are controlled by only a small number of owners, and Russia is among these countries, having dropped 9 places in a year, ranking 171st out of 180. On a 100-point scale, the country scored only 24.57 points. Neighboring it are Egypt and Nicaragua. Only Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, China, North Korea, and Eritrea ranked lower.
Georgia also lost 11 positions in a year (114th place, 50.53 points), where as a result of parliamentary elections that drew international criticism and protests within the country, power was retained by the pro-Kremlin party «Georgian Dream».
Ukraine ranked 62nd, but «Reporters Without Borders» note that about 90% of media depend on financial aid, mainly still coming from the USA, so Donald Trump's decision to cut funding for the USAID agency could seriously affect the media sphere in the country.
Armenia rose the highest among CIS countries — 34th place, with Yerevan showing the largest growth among post-Soviet countries, adding 9 positions in a year.
Norway took first place in the press freedom ranking, followed by Estonia and the Netherlands. The USA is in 57th place.
«Besides the unstable security environment and growing authoritarianism, the main reason for this is economic pressure», — noted «Reporters Without Borders», specifying that today editorial offices around the world are increasingly forced to choose between striving for independence and economic survival. The executive director of the organization explains the financial difficulties for media worldwide by stating that «independent journalism is a thorn in the side of autocrats».