The Netherlands as number six in the world – a respectable performance, but slightly worse than the fifth-place ranking the country achieved in 2020.
The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation’s own assessment of the countries’ press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organisations have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.
The 2021 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows that journalism, the main vaccine against disinformation, is completely or partly blocked in 73% of the 180 countries ranked by the organisation.
A report ranking press freedoms in 180 countries around the world has placed the Netherlands as number six in the world – a respectable performance, but slightly worse than the fifth-place ranking the country achieved in 2020.
Each country is awarded an overall score out of 100, based on how it performs across a series of seven criteria:
1.Pluralism
2.Media independence
3.Environment and self-censorship
4.Legislative framework
5.Transparency
6.Infrastructure
7.Abuses
In 2021, the countries which ranked highest on the Press Freedom Index were Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Jamaica, New Zealand, Ireland, Portugal, and Switzerland.
The lowest-ranking countries were Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, China, Djibouti, Vietnam, Iran, Syria, Laos, and Cuba.
