Bangladesh slips 3 notches down in World Press Freedom Index

Bangladesh has slipped again in the World Press Freedom Index. On Thursday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international non-profit organization working on the rights of journalists worldwide, released its 2026 index.

In this, Bangladesh is ranked 152nd out of 180 countries, slipping down three spots. Last year, Bangladesh was ranked 149th.

The index divides countries into several categories from 'good' to 'very serious'. This time, Bangladesh has been included in the 'very serious' category.

Bangladesh had advanced 16 places in last year's index.

RSF said that five indicators are considered to determine a country's media freedom - political context, legal framework, economic pressure, social environment and security.

In the case of Bangladesh, the biggest deterioration has been seen in the political context index. This index considers political support for media autonomy, pressure from the state and political forces, and tolerance for dissenting journalism. In addition, the role of the media in holding politicians accountable for public interest is also assessed.

In this year's index, Bangladesh is just a step ahead of Pakistan and five steps ahead of India. However, it is 65 steps behind Nepal, 18 steps of Sri Lanka and 2 steps of Bhutan.

RSF said that repression is increasing in the Pacific region and the situation of media freedom is continuously deteriorating. Although freedom is talked about on paper, in reality it is being violated.

The organization also said that this is the first time in the 25-year history of the index that the global average score has fallen to its lowest level. This time, more than half of the countries fell into the 'difficult' or 'very serious' category.

In 2002, 20 percent of the world's people lived in countries where media freedom was 'good'. In 2026, this rate fell to less than one percent.

This time, only seven countries are in the 'good' category, of which Norway has been at the top for 10 consecutive years.

The United States, on the other hand, has fallen seven places to 64th. Russia is in 172nd place. Norway is at the top, but Eritrea has been at the bottom of the list for three consecutive years.

RSF also said that Syria has made significant progress since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in late 2024, moving up 36 places to 141st.

The organization's editorial director, Anne Bokande, said that international laws protecting journalists are now being ignored and perpetrators often enjoy impunity.