Reporters Without Borders
Freedom of the press has deteriorated worldwide, but improved in Germany
The registered number of attacks on journalists in Germany fell last year
© Christoph Soeder / DPA
In a super election year, the organization Reporters Without Borders is drawing attention to the global state of press freedom. Journalists are prevented from reporting and attacked. What does it look like in Germany?
Overall, the situation of press freedom has continued to deteriorate significantly worldwide. The association presented the list on the occasion of “International Press Freedom Day” on May 3rd.
Germany rises significantly in the ranking
RSF managing director Anja Osterhaus said in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin” that they look at this every year and unfortunately found that the situation was good or at least satisfactory in only 45, i.e. a quarter of the countries examined. “It is very worrying in 36 countries. This means that journalism – as we know it – can hardly take place there anymore.”
Germany has significantly improved its position on the list and is in 10th place. In 2023, the Federal Republic was still in 21st place.
About the ranking methodology: The association compares the situation for media professionals in around 180 countries. Security, political context, legal framework as well as economic and socio-cultural environment in the respective country play a role in the allocation of places. The association also uses surveys and selects journalists are questioned in more detail. The ranking has been around for more than 20 years. Data from 2023 was included in the latest edition.
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Freedom of the press: Attacks in Germany reduced
The association points out that it can happen that countries automatically improve in the ranking just because others have deteriorated. This is partly how RSF explains the leap that Germany has made. At the same time, the number of attacks on journalists in this country recorded by the association has decreased. However, there is a high number of unreported cases worldwide.
Norway is in first place in the rankings for the eighth time in a row. Behind them are Denmark (2), Sweden (3), the Netherlands (4), Finland (5), Estonia (6), Portugal (7), Ireland (8) and Switzerland (9), ahead of Germany. Eritrea comes last in 180th place. In front of it are Syria (179), Afghanistan (178), North Korea (177) and Iran (176).