Ukraine marks vast improvements in press freedom with rise on Reporters Without Borders index

Ukraine rose from 106th to 79th in press freedom rating despite the war.

Rubryka reports, referring to the Press Freedom Index, that the sharp rise happened thanks to the economic stabilization of most mass media and the reduced influence of oligarchs.

"Developments such as the almost complete suppression of independent reporting in Russia due to the Ukraine war, mass arrests of media workers in Turkey, and the further increase in aggression towards reporters on the sidelines of demonstrations in Germany ensured that many countries slipped down the rankings," Reporters Without Border (RSF) who complied the rating said in a statement. " The sometimes significant descents and simultaneous ascents of many other countries show how unstable the global situation is in times of crises, anti-media agitation, and disinformation."

The RSF infographic shows that the situation with press freedom in Ukraine has improved, moving to 79th place and changing 27 steps in the rating, due to the economic stabilization of most mass media.

The influence of oligarchs on journalism has also decreased.

However, in the security category, Ukraine ranks penultimate in the world. This is related to Russian war crimes against media workers in Ukraine.

Ukraine has ranked ahead of dozens of African countries and Georgia (77th place). Russia fell by nine positions and occupies 164th place. Asian countries occupy the last positions in the rating:

• 180th place is North Korea,
• China on 179,
• Vietnam on 178.

The best situation in European countries:

• Norway (1),
• Ireland (2),
• Denmark (3),
• Sweden (4),
• Finland (5).

RSF also emphasizes that the biggest problem remains the security situation for journalists. The security situation is "dire" in 36 of the 180 countries: in war-torn countries such as Ukraine and Yemen, as well as in the world's most prominent "prisons for media workers" China, Myanmar, and Iran.

According to the RSF scale, the situation with freedom of the press is as follows:

• "very serious" in 31 countries,
• "difficult" in 42,
• Fifty-five have "identifiable problems."
• in 52, the situation is "good" or "satisfactory."

Working conditions for media workers are problematic in approximately 70% of the world's countries, the same as last year.

The press freedom rating compares the situation in 180 countries. The ranking is published once before World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2023.