Do NOT Take Press Freedom for Granted

Hyph-n Magazine
Jul 30, 2020
1 min read

Updated: Aug 10, 2020

by Sara Manfrè

map: OpenStreetMapContributors

Thanks to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, in western countries, all members of the European Union enjoy the freedom of the media and press. However, as this map shows, the same cannot be said for eastern countries in Central-America, Middle-East, and Asia in particular.

The World Press Freedom Index map by Reporters Without Borders ranks 180 countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists (rsf.org).The areas highlighted in black show countries with a “very serious situation,” or where editorial independence is restricted.

Asia is the continent with the highest number of killings and imprisonments in the world.In particular North Korea, Turkmenistan, and China, which is a country that Freedom House always lists as ‘not free’.

Since 2013, the 2nd of November has been designated as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists by the United Nations.

China is currently the country with the highest number of journalists in prison, 70, followed by Egypt 26, Turkey 22, and Yemen 16. Not surprisingly, China also has the highest number for citizens journalists imprisoned, 45, followed by Vietnam at 22.