How free is the media?

Explore the data: red for declining countries, green for advancing countries.

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Media freedom is under threat across the globe, but glimmers of hope persist.

Over the past year, 27 countries – home to 1 billion people – experienced declines on at least 1 of our indicators for media freedoms: government censorship, self-censorship, and harassment of journalists.

Nonetheless, there are countries across the globe that are seeing advances. Guatemala, Poland, and Tajikistan have advanced in all 3 media freedom indicators, meaning that 65 million people now benefit from media environments less restricted by censorship and harassment.

Over the last decade, 99 countries have seen declines in at least 1 of 3 media freedoms: a total population of 6.2 billion. Only 32 countries experienced advances in any media freedoms over this period: a total population of 914 million.

This means that 3 times as many countries – and nearly 7 times as many people – experienced declines than experienced advances.

Freedom from harassment of journalists

For every 1 person living in a media environment less marked by harassment of journalists than a decade ago, more than 7 people have seen the harassment of journalists increase in their country.

However, over the last year, billions of people have experienced improvement in their media freedoms, primarily due to better media environments in countries with large populations, like China (1.5 billion people), India (1.4 billion), and Brazil (212 million).

• Over the last 10 years, scores for this indicator have declined for 4.7 billion people in 63 countries, and advanced for 656 million people in 17 countries.
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• Over the last 5 years, scores have declined for 979 million people in 42 countries, and advanced for 4 billion people in 18 countries.
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• Over the last year, scores have declined for 358 million people in 12 countries, and advanced for 2 billion people in 15 countries.

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Freedom from media self-censorship

For every 1 person living in a media environment less marked by media self-censorship than a decade ago, more than 28 people have experienced increased self-censorship by the media.

However, as with freedom from harassment of journalists, the countries that advanced over the last year have large populations – so while the number of countries advancing may be small, many people are benefiting from those improvements.

• Over the last 10 years, scores for this indicator have declined for 5.3 billion people in 64 countries, and advanced for 188 million people in 12 countries.

• Over the last 5 years, scores have declined for 1.3 billion people in 44 countries, and advanced for 363 million people in 10 countries.

• Over the last year, scores have declined for 678 million people in 15 countries, and advanced for 1.7 billion people in 10 countries.

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Freedom from government censorship efforts

For every 1 person living in a media environment less marked by government censorship than a decade ago, more than 10 people have experienced increased censorship efforts.

As with the other 2 indicators, more recent advances have occurred in countries with larger populations – so although the number of countries advancing is roughly equal to the number declining in the last year, many more people are affected by advances than by declines.

• Over the last 10 years, scores for this indicator have declined for 5 billion people in 58 countries, and advanced for 457 million people in 22 countries.

• Over the last 5 years, scores have declined for 1.5 billion people in 43 countries, and advanced for 2.4 billion people in 20 countries.

• Over the last year, scores have declined for 149 million people in 8 countries, and advanced for 1.7 billion people in 9 countries.

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About the data

The 2025 Global Expression Report shows that freedom of expression is in decline across the world.

In the last 10 years, 5.6 billion people across 77 countries experienced declines in their freedom of expression, while only 299 million people in 15 countries experienced advances.

For every 1 person who has experienced improvement to their freedom of expression in the last decade, 19 people have experienced deterioration.

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About the indicators

1. Freedom from media self-censorship: Self-censorship among journalists when reporting on issues that the government considers politically sensitive.

2. Freedom from harassment of journalists: Individual journalists harassed by governmental or powerful non-governmental actors while engaged in legitimate journalistic activities.

3. Freedom from government censorship efforts: Attempts by the government to directly or indirectly censor the print or broadcast media.

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