2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index — by Reporters Without Borders

Western democracies slip back, with the US falling more than 20 places

Introduction by Sean/iNoodle.com:

This report is issued by Reporters Without Borders each May 3rd, in celebration of World Press Freedom Day. Therefore, the 2005 report has been available for more than eight months; however, as I just stumbled upon it today and consider the information contained therein to remain relevant, I decided to post this to iNoodle.com. Note, too, that we can expect the 2006 report to become available in less than four months.

The US (in American territory) is ranked #44 of 167 countries. The lower the ranking number, the greater the relative press freedom. The US (in Iraq) is ranked #137. Iraq itself is ranked #157. The United Kingdom is ranked #24. I am interested in learning how these rankings may change in the coming 2006 report.

Tied for #1 are the following seven countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.

The following excerpt from the report contradicts two generally accepted truisms:

Press freedom, economic development and independence

Countries that have recently won their independence or have recovered it are very observant of press freedom and give the lie to the insistence of many authoritarian leaders that democracy takes decades to establish itself. Nine states that have had independence (or recovered it within the past 15 years) are among the top 60 countries - Slovenia (9th), Estonia (11th), Latvia (16th), Lithuania (21st), Namibia (25th), Bosnia-Herzegovina (33rd), Macedonia (43rd), Croatia (56th) and East Timor (58th).

The Index also contradicts the frequent argument by leaders of poor and repressive countries that economic development is a vital precondition for democracy and respect for human rights. The top of the Index is heavily dominated by rich countries, but several very poor ones (with a per capita GDP of less than $1,000 in 2003) are among the top 60, such as Benin (25th), Mali (37th), Bolivia (45th), Mozambique (49th), Mongolia (53rd), Niger (57th) and East Timor (58th).

Click here for the full report from Reporters Without Borders. I also keep a link on iNoodle.com (in the "Links" section in the right-hand column) to Reporters Without Borders' home page.