Ukraine climbed 18 positions in the press freedom rating over the course of a year

Ukraine rose by 18 positions in the press freedom rating and took 61st place out of 180. Last year, Ukraine ranked 79th.

This is stated in the World Press Freedom Index 2024 (World Press Freedom Index), published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The rating is published on World Press Freedom Day. The report notes that Ukraine rose in the ranking due to the improvement of the security indicator (fewer journalists killed per year) and the political situation.

First places in the rating for Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Portugal and Ireland also showed "good" indicators of press freedom.

Press freedom is being tested in Hungary, Malta and Greece, the three EU countries with the lowest rating. They took the 67th, 73rd and 88th places in the rating, respectively.

In another 49 countries, the situation with the press was assessed as "difficult". Among European countries, only Serbia, Albania and Georgia got here — 98th, 99th and 103rd places, respectively. Last year, all three of these countries had a "problematic" rating, and Georgia took 77th place, two positions ahead of Ukraine.

Russia is ranked 162nd, while Belarus is 167th. Poland is ranked 47th, Moldova is 31st, and Romania is 49th.

The worst situation with freedom of the press is in North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea.

Reporters Without Borders expects the upcoming elections in 2024 in many countries to put even more pressure on journalists. In addition, according to RSF, the use of artificial intelligence to create disinformation for political purposes is a concern.