Reporters without borders - Definition and Overview

Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontières, or RSF) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to freedom of the press. The name connects to Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières).

RWB is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a virtual network of non-governmental organisations that monitors free expression violations worldwide and campaigns to defend journalists, writers and human rights activists.

Worldwide press freedom index

The RWB has been making a list of most of the world countries based on their press freedom. The 2004 list was published on October 26, 2004. The list is generated based on responses to surveys sent to a number of people from around the world: over a hundred journalists that are members of partner organisations of the RWB, as well as related specialists such as researchers, jurists and human rights activists.

The survey asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media as well as other indirect sources of pressure against the free press. RWB is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom, and does not measure the quality of journalism.


Pos	Country	Score
1	Denmark	0.50
=	Finland	0.50
=	Iceland	0.50
=	Republic of Ireland	0.50
=	Netherlands	0.50
=	Norway	0.50
=	Slovakia	0.50
=	Switzerland	0.50
9	New Zealand	0.67
10	Latvia	1.00
11	Estonia	2.00
=	Germany	2.00
=	Sweden	2.00
=	Trinidad and Tobago	2.00
15	Slovenia	2.25
16	Lithuania	3.00
17	Austria	3.25
18	Canada	3.33
19	Czech Republic	3.50
=	France	3.50
21	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3.67
22	Belgium	4.00
=	United States of America (American territory)	4.00
24	Jamaica	4.17
25	Portugal	4.50
26	South Africa	5.00
27	Benin	5.50
28	El Salvador	6.00
=	Hungary	6.00
=	United Kingdom	6.00
31	Dominican Republic	6.75
32	Poland	6.83
33	Greece	7.00
34	Hong Kong	7.50
35	Costa Rica	7.63
36	Bulgaria	8.00
=	Israel (Israeli territory)	8.00
38	Cape Verde	8.75
39	Italy	9.00
=	Spain	9.00
41	Australia	9.50
42	Chile	10.00
=	Japan	10.00
=	Namibia	10.00
=	Uruguay	10.00
46	Mauritius	10.50
=	Paraguay	10.50
48	South Korea	11.13
49	Republic of Macedonia	11.25
50	Albania	11.50
=	Botswana	11.50
52	Nicaragua	11.67
53	Honduras	11.75
54	Croatia	11.83
55	Grenade	12.00
56	Mali	12.83
57	Ghana	13.50
=	Timor-Leste	13.50
59	Thailand	14.00
60	Taiwan	14.25
61	Panama	14.50
=	Tanzania	14.50
63	Fiji	16.00
64	Burkina Faso	16.25
=	Mozambique	16.25
66	Brazil	16.50
=	Ecuador	16.50
=	Guatemala	16.50
69	Congo	17.50
70	Romania	17.83
71	Niger	18.33
72	Madagascar	18.50
73	Burundi	19.00
=	Mongolia	19.00
75	Togo	19.50
76	Bolivia	20.00
77	Serbia and Montenegro	20.33
78	Moldova	20.50
79	Argentina	21.33
80	Senegal	21.50
81	Cyprus (North)	22.00
82	Kenya	22.25
83	Armenia	23.50
=	Guinea-Bissau	23.50


Pos	Country	Score
=	Seychelles	23.50
86	Uganda	24.00
87	Lebanon	24.38
88	Guinea	24.50
=	Sierra Leone	24.50
90	Venezuela	24.63
91	Angola	26.50
=	Comoros	26.50
93	Cameroon	27.00
94	Georgia	27.50
95	Tajikistan	27.75
96	Mexico	27.83
97	Afghanistan	28.25
98	Gambia	29.50
=	Lesotho	29.50
100	Zambia	29.75
101	Malawi	31.00
=	Swaziland	31.00
103	Kuwait	31.67
104	Central African Republic	32.50
=	Qatar	32.50
106	Chad	33.25
107	Kyrgyzstan	35.25
108	United States of America (in Iraq)	36.00
109	Cambodia	36.50
=	Sri Lanka	36.50
111	Philippines	36.63
112	Ethiopia	37.00
113	Rwanda	37.25
=	Turkey	37.25
115	Gabon	37.50
=	Israel (occupied territories)	37.50
117	Indonesia	37.75
=	Nigeria	37.75
119	Tonga	38.17
120	India	38.50
121	Jordan	39.13
122	Malaysia	39.83
123	Liberia	40.00
=	Peru	40.00
125	Haiti	42.13
126	Morocco	43.00
127	Palestinian Authority	43.17
128	Algeria	43.50
=	Egypt	43.50
=	Somalia	43.50
131	Kazakhstan	44.17
132	Sudan	44.25
133	Equatorial Guinea	46.25
134	Colombia	47.83
135	Yemen	48.00
136	Azerbaijan	49.67
137	United Arab Emirates	50.25
138	Mauritania	51.00
=	Ukraine	51.00
140	Russia	51.38
141	Democratic Republic of Congo	51.50
142	Uzbekistan	52.13
143	Bahrein	52.50
144	Belarus	54.10
145	Djibouti	55.00
146	Bhutan	55.83
147	Singapore	57.00
148	Iraq	58.50
149	Côte d'Ivoire	60.38
150	Pakistan	61.75
151	Bangladesh	62.50
152	Tunisia	62.67
153	Laos	64.33
154	Libya	65.00
155	Syria	67.50
=	Zimbabwe	67.50
157	Maldives	69.17
158	Iran	78.30
159	Saudi Arabia	79.17
160	Nepal	84.00
161	Vietnam	86.88
162	People's Republic of China	92.33
163	Eritrea	93.25
164	Turkmenistan	99.83
165	Burma	103.63
166	Cuba	106.83
167	North Korea	107.50

External links

Reporters Without Borders web page (http://www.rsf.fr/)
First worldwide press freedom index (October 2002) (http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=4116)
Second worldwide press freedom index (October 2003) (http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8247)
Third worldwide press freedom index (October 2004) (http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=11715)

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