The 2016 World Press Freedom Index that was released by Reporters Sans Frontieres - Reporters Without Borders today, 20 April (in France), showed that there is a decline in respect for media freedom at both the global and regional levels.

The Index ranks 180 countries according to freedom they allowed journalists.

The three top ranking countries are: 1^st – Finland, a position it has held since 2010; 2^nd – Netherland, up two places and 3^rd – Norway, down one place.

The countries that rose the most in this year’s Index are: Tunisia 96^th, up 30 places and Ukraine at 107^th, up 22.

The countries that fell farthest include Poland 47^th, down 29 places; Tajikistan 150^th, down 34  places; Brunei 155^th, down 34 places and Burundi at 156^th down 11 places.

The last three places are taken up again by the “infernal trio”: Turkmenistan 178^th, North Korea 179^th and Eritrea 180^th.

In the Asia Pacific region, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga edged their way up. Fiji at 80^th, up 13; Samoa at 29^th, up 11 and Tonga at 37^th, up 7 places.

New Zealand is in 5^th place, Australia 25^th, Papua New Guinea 55^th, the UK 38^th and the USA 41^st.

In Asia, Japan at 72^nd, down 11; South Korea 70^th, down 10; China at 176^th; India 133^rd; Singapore at 154^th; Bangladesh 144^th and Sri Lanka 141^st.

The World Press Freedom Index has been published annually by RSF since 2002. This year’s Index shows that there has been a deep and disturbing decline in respect for media freedon at botrh the global and regional levels.  There are many reasons for this decline in freedom of information include the increasingly authoritarian tendencies of government and tighter government control of state-owned media.

According to RSD the surival of independent news coverage is becoming increasingly precarious in both the state and privately-owned media because of the threat from ideologies, especially religious ideologies, that are hostile to media freedom, and fro large-scale propaganda machines. Throughout the world, oligarchs are buying up media outlets and are exercising pressure that compounds the pressure already coming from governments.

The Index is based on an evaluation of media freedom that measures pluralism, media independence, the quality of the legal framework and the safety of journalists in 180 countries. It has been compiles by means of a questionnaire in 20 languages that is completed by experts all over the world.

“This qualitative analysis is combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated.”