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Public confidence in the press has been eroding for decades in the United States. According to a recent Gallup poll, just 34% of Americans have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in mass media, down from 54% just 20 years ago.
Several factors have contributed to the credibility crisis in American media, not the least of which is the growing political polarization of news outlets. One study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that Republicans’ trust in news sources like CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post – which was not especially high to begin with – fell substantially from 2014 to 2019. Other factors contributing to the increased distrust include the decline of local and print newspapers and the simultaneous rise of unregulated online platforms.
Despite these trends, press freedom in the United States compares favorably to most other large countries in the world. The independent journalism advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, defines press freedom as the ability of journalists and media outlets to report news and information to serve the public interest without political, economic, legal or social interference, or threats to their physical and mental safety and well-being. The RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index ranks the United States 42nd in the world for press freedom. Among the 25 largest countries in the world by population, the U.S. ranks far better.
Using 2022 data from the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, 24/7 Wall St. ranked the world’s 25 most populous countries by their press freedom index score, which RSF calculated using press survey data. Population and GDP per capita figures are from the World Bank. From The Economist’s Democracy Index, we added each country’s regime classification.
The press freedom index is broken into five subcategories: political context, which measures independence from political pressure; legal framework, a measure of journalistic censorship, discrimination, and legal protections; economic context, which accounts for the overall media business environment; sociocultural context, which includes the press’s ability to cover certain issues that may run counter to the prevailing culture; and safety, a measure of the press’ ability to report without fear of mental, physical, or personal harm.
The freedom of the press among the countries on this list hinges largely on the type of government under which the media operates. Countries under authoritarian rule tend to have limited press freedom, while democracies tend to have higher levels of press freedom. (Here is a look at the best countries to move to.)
Based on the Economist’s regime classification analysis, nine of the 10 countries on this list with the highest press freedom score on this list are either democracies or flawed democracies. Meanwhile, only two of the world’s 10 largest countries with the lowest degree of press freedom are democratic. (Here is a look at the most corrupt countries in the world.)
Click here to see the most populous countries ranked by press freedom.
25. Iran
> Press freedom score in 2022: 23.2 out of 100 (178th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 87,923,432 (17th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Political context; 30.7 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 13.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Authoritarian regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $2,746
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24. China
> Press freedom score in 2022: 25.2 out of 100 (175th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 1,412,360,000 (the largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 33.3 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 15.8 out of 100
> Regime classification: Authoritarian regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $12,556
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23. Vietnam
> Press freedom score in 2022: 26.1 out of 100 (174th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 97,468,029 (15th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 34.7 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 17.4 out of 100
> Regime classification: Authoritarian regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $3,756
22. Egypt
> Press freedom score in 2022: 30.2 out of 100 (168th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 109,262,178 (14th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 44.3 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 17.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Authoritarian regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $3,399
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21. Bangladesh
> Press freedom score in 2022: 36.6 out of 100 (162nd best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 169,356,251 (8th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 48.5 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 15.9 out of 100
> Regime classification: Hybrid regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $2,458
20. Pakistan
> Press freedom score in 2022: 38.0 out of 100 (157th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 231,402,117 (5th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Legal framework; 53.3 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 17.8 out of 100
> Regime classification: Hybrid regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $1,505
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19. Russia
> Press freedom score in 2022: 38.8 out of 100 (155th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 143,449,286 (9th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 51.3 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 27.0 out of 100
> Regime classification: Authoritarian regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $10,169
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18. India
> Press freedom score in 2022: 41.0 out of 100 (150th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 1,407,563,842 (2nd largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Legal framework; 57.0 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 20.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $2,257
17. Turkey
> Press freedom score in 2022: 41.3 out of 100 (149th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 84,775,404 (18th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 55.0 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 27.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Hybrid regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $8,561
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16. Philippines
> Press freedom score in 2022: 41.8 out of 100 (147th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 113,880,328 (13th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 61.8 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 23.1 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $3,461
15. Nigeria
> Press freedom score in 2022: 46.8 out of 100 (129th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 213,401,323 (7th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 69.8 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 28.8 out of 100
> Regime classification: Hybrid regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $2,066
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14. Mexico
> Press freedom score in 2022: 47.6 out of 100 (127th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 126,705,138 (10th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Legal framework; 65.8 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 11.0 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $10,046
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13. Democratic Republic of Congo
> Press freedom score in 2022: 47.7 out of 100 (125th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 95,894,118 (16th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Legal framework; 60.9 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 24.3 out of 100
> Regime classification: Authoritarian regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $577
12. Tanzania
> Press freedom score in 2022: 48.3 out of 100 (123rd best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 63,588,334 (23rd largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Safety; 60.6 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 32.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Hybrid regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $1,099
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11. Indonesia
> Press freedom score in 2022: 49.3 out of 100 (117th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 273,753,191 (4th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 66.0 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 37.4 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $4,333
10. Thailand
> Press freedom score in 2022: 50.1 out of 100 (115th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 71,601,103 (20th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Political context; 59.0 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 45.2 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $7,066
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9. Ethiopia
> Press freedom score in 2022: 50.5 out of 100 (114th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 120,283,026 (12th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Legal framework; 63.7 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 35.3 out of 100
> Regime classification: Authoritarian regime
> 2021 GDP per capita: $925
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8. Brazil
> Press freedom score in 2022: 55.4 out of 100 (110th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 214,326,223 (6th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 70.0 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 37.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $7,507
7. Japan
> Press freedom score in 2022: 64.4 out of 100 (71st best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 125,681,593 (11th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Safety; 80.2 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 53.7 out of 100
> Regime classification: Full democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $39,313
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6. Italy
> Press freedom score in 2022: 68.2 out of 100 (58th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 59,109,668 (25th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 80.0 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 47.5 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $35,657
5. United States
> Press freedom score in 2022: 72.7 out of 100 (42nd best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 331,893,745 (3rd largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 81.4 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 59.3 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $70,249
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4. South Africa
> Press freedom score in 2022: 75.6 out of 100 (35th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 59,392,255 (24th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Legal framework; 84.4 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 62.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $7,055
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3. France
> Press freedom score in 2022: 78.5 out of 100 (26th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 67,749,632 (21st largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 89.4 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 67.9 out of 100
> Regime classification: Flawed democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $43,659
2. United Kingdom
> Press freedom score in 2022: 78.7 out of 100 (24th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 67,326,569 (22nd largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 84.3 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Economic context; 72.8 out of 100
> Regime classification: Full democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $46,510
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1. Germany
> Press freedom score in 2022: 82.0 out of 100 (16th best of 180 countries)
> Population, 2021: 83,196,078 (19th largest in the world)
> Best area of press freedom: Sociocultural context; 89.5 out of 100
> Worst area of press freedom: Safety; 66.6 out of 100
> Regime classification: Full democracy
> 2021 GDP per capita: $51,204
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