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Mapped: The State of Press Freedom Around the World

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Mapped: The State of Press Freedom Around the World

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In many Western countries, it’s easy to take press freedom for granted.

Instances of fake news, clickbait, and hyper-partisan reporting are points of consternation in the modern media landscape, and can sometimes overshadow the greater good that unrestricted journalism provides to society.

Of course, the ability to do that important work can vary significantly around the world. Being an investigative journalist in Sweden comes with a very different set of circumstances and considerations than doing the same thing in a country such as Saudi Arabia or Venezuela.

Today’s map highlights the results of the 2020 Global Press Freedom Index, produced by Reporters Without Borders. The report looks at press freedom in 180 countries and territories.

A Profession Not Without Its Risks

Today, nearly 75% of countries are in categories that the report describes as problematic, difficult, and very serious.

While these negative forces often come in the form of censorship and intimidation, journalism can be a risky profession in some of the more restrictive countries. One example is Mexico, where nearly 60 journalists were killed as a direct result of their reporting over the last decade.

journalists killed around the world

There is good news though: the number of journalists killed last year was the lowest since the report began in 2002.

Even better, press freedom scores increased around the world in the 2020 report.

Press Freedom: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Here are the scores for all 180 countries and territories covered in the report, sorted by 2020 ranking and score:

Rank (2020)Country or RegionScore (2020)Prev. Rank (2019)Change in Rank
#1🇳🇴 Norway7.8410
#2🇫🇮 Finland7.9320
#3🇩🇰 Denmark8.1352
#4🇸🇪 Sweden9.253-1
#5🇳🇱 Netherlands9.964-1
#6🇯🇲 Jamaica10.5182
#7🇨🇷 Costa Rica10.53103
#8🇨🇭 Switzerland10.626-2
#9🇳🇿 New Zealand10.697-2
#10🇵🇹 Portugal11.83122
#11Germany12.16132
#12Belgium12.579-3
#13Ireland12.60152
#14Estonia12.6111-3
#15Iceland15.1214-1
#16Canada15.29182
#17Luxembourg15.46170
#18Austria15.7816-2
#19Uruguay15.79190
#20Suriname17.50200
#21Samoa18.25221
#22Latvia18.56242
#23Namibia19.25230
#24Liechtenstein19.52262
#25Cape Verde20.15250
#26Australia20.2121-5
#27Cyprus20.45281
#28Lithuania21.19302
#29Spain22.16290
#30Ghana22.2627-3
#31South Africa22.41310
#32Slovenia22.64342
#33Slovakia22.67352
#34France22.9232-2
#35United Kingdom22.9333-2
#36Trinidad and Tobago23.22393
#37Andorra23.23370
#38Burkina Faso23.4736-2
#39Botswana23.56445
#40Czech Republic23.57400
#41Italy23.69432
#42South Korea23.7041-1
#43Taiwan23.7642-1
#44OECS23.78506
#45United States23.85483
#46Papua New Guinea23.9338-8
#47Senegal23.99492
#48Romania25.9147-1
#49Guyana26.63512
#50Tonga27.2745-5
#51Chile27.3146-5
#52Fiji27.41520
#53Belize27.50530
#54Madagascar27.68540
#55Dominican Republic27.90550
#56Mauritius28.00582
#57Niger28.25669
#58Bosnia and Herzegovina28.51635
#59Croatia28.51645
#60Georgia28.59600
#61Armenia28.60610
#62Poland28.6559-3
#63Seychelles28.66696
#64Argentina28.7857-7
#65Greece28.80650
#66Japan28.86671
#67Bhutan28.908013
#68Ivory Coast28.94713
#69Malawi29.3268-1
#70Kosovo29.33755
#71Togo29.33765
#72Tunisia29.45720
#73Mongolia29.6170-3
#74El Salvador29.70817
#75Comoros29.7756-19
#76Panama29.78793
#77Cyprus North29.7974-3
#78East Timor29.90846
#79Maldives29.939819
#80Hong Kong30.0173-7
#81Malta30.1677-4
#82Kyrgyzstan30.19831
#83Haiti30.2062-21
#84Albania30.2582-2
#85Sierra Leone30.28861
#86Lesotho30.4578-8
#87Gambia30.62925
#88Israel30.84880
#89Hungary30.8487-2
#90Peru30.9485-5
#91Moldova31.16910
#92Macedonia31.28953
#93Serbia31.6290-3
#94Guinea-Bissau32.0689-5
#95Liberia32.2593-2
#96Ukraine32.521026
#97Mauritania32.5494-3
#98Ecuador32.6297-1
#99Ethiopia32.8211011
#100Paraguay32.9799-1
#101Malaysia33.1212322
#102Lebanon33.19101-1
#103Kenya33.72100-3
#104Mozambique33.79103-1
#105Montenegro33.83104-1
#106Angola33.921093
#107Brazil34.05105-2
#108Mali34.121124
#109Kuwait34.30108-1
#110Guinea34.34107-3
#111Bulgaria35.061110
#112Nepal35.10106-6
#113Benin35.1196-17
#114Bolivia35.37113-1
#115Nigeria35.631205
#116Guatemala35.741160
#117Nicaragua35.81114-3
#118Congo36.56117-1
#119Indonesia36.821245
#120Zambia37.00119-1
#121Gabon37.20115-6
#122Afghanistan37.70121-1
#123Chad39.70122-1
#124Tanzania40.25118-6
#125Uganda40.951250
#126Zimbabwe40.951271
#127Sri Lanka41.94126-1
#128Jordan42.081302
#129Qatar42.51128-1
#130Colombia42.66129-1
#131United Arab Emirates42.691332
#132C.A.R.42.8714513
#133Morocco42.881352
#134Cameroon43.28131-3
#135Oman43.42132-3
#136Philippines43.54134-2
#137Palestine44.091370
#138South Sudan44.491391
#139Myanmar44.77138-1
#140Thailand44.94136-4
#141Swaziland45.151476
#142India45.33140-2
#143Mexico45.451441
#144Cambodia45.46143-1
#145Pakistan45.52142-3
#146Algeria45.52141-5
#147Venezuela45.661481
#148Honduras48.20146-2
#149Russian Federation48.921490
#150Congo (DRC)49.091544
#151Bangladesh49.37150-1
#152Brunei49.651520
#153Belarus49.751530
#154Turkey50.021573
#155Rwanda50.341550
#156Uzbekistan53.071604
#157Kazakhstan54.111581
#158Singapore55.23151-7
#159Sudan55.3317516
#160Burundi55.33159-1
#161Tajikistan55.341610
#162Iraq55.37156-6
#163Somalia55.451641
#164Libya55.77162-2
#165Equatorial Guinea56.381650
#166Egypt56.82163-3
#167Yemen58.251681
#168Azerbaijan58.48166-2
#169Bahrain60.13167-2
#170Saudi Arabia62.141722
#171Cuba63.81169-2
#172Laos64.28171-1
#173Iran64.81170-3
#174Syria72.571740
#175Vietnam74.711761
#176Djibouti76.73173-3
#177China78.481770
#178Eritrea83.501780
#179Turkmenistan85.441801
#180North Korea85.82179-1

Which countries stood out in this year’s edition of the press freedom rankings?

Norway: Nordic Countries have topped the Press Freedom Index since its inception, and Norway (Rank: #1) in particular is an example for the world. Despite a very free media environment, the government recently mandated a commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the conditions for freedom of speech. Members will consider measures to promote the broadest possible participation in the public debate, and means to hamper the spread of fake news and hate speech.

Malaysia: A new government ushered in a less restrictive era in Malaysia in 2018. Journalists and media outlets that had been blacklisted were able to resume working, and anti-fake news laws that were viewed as problematic were repealed. As a result, Malaysia’s index score has improved by 15 points in the past two years. This is in sharp contrast to neighbor, Singapore, which is ranked 158th out of 180 countries.

Ethiopia: When Abiy Ahmed Ali took power in Africa’s second most populous country in 2018, his government restored access to over 200 news websites and blogs that had been previously blocked. As well, many detained journalists and bloggers were released as the chill over the country’s highly restrictive media environment began to thaw. As a result, Ethiopia (#99) jumped up eleven spots in the Press Freedom Index in 2020.

The Middle East: Though the situation in this region has begun to stabilize somewhat, restrictions still remain – even in relatively safe and stable countries. Both Saudi Arabia (#170) and Egypt (#166) have imprisoned a number of journalists in recent years, and the former is still dealing with the reputational fallout from the assassination of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi.

China: Sitting near the bottom of the list is China (#176). More than 100 journalists and bloggers are currently detained as the country maintains a tight grip over the press – particularly as COVID-19 began to spread. Earlier this year, the Chinese government also expelled over a dozen journalists representing U.S. publications.

2020: A Pivotal Year for the Press

As the world grapples with a deadly pandemic, a global economic shutdown, and a crucial election year, the media could find itself in the spotlight more than in previous years.

How the stories of 2020 are told will influence our collective future – and how regimes choose to treat journalists under this atypical backdrop will tell us a lot about press freedom going forward.

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War

Visualized: Top 15 Global Tank Fleets

Heavily armed and armored, the modern tank is a versatile and mobile weapons platform, and a critical piece of contemporary warfare. 

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Teaser image for an dot matrix chart of the top 15 global tank fleets, broken down by main battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and storage, showing that the U.S. is number one, by a wide margin.

The Top 15 Global Tank Fleets

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Heavily armed and armored, the modern tank is a versatile and mobile weapons platform, and a critical piece of contemporary warfare.

This visualization shows the top 15 global tank fleets, using data from the 2024 Military Balance report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Let’s take an in-depth look at the top three fleets:

1. United States

As the world’s pre-eminent military power, it’s perhaps no surprise that the United States also has the largest tank fleet, by a wide margin.

In total, they have just over 45,000 armored fighting vehicles in operation, along with 2,640 main battle tanks (MBTs), and 12,800 vehicles in storage, of which 2,000 are main battle tanks.

CategoryVehiclesGlobal rank
Main battle tanks2,6404
Armored reconnaissance1,7451
Infantry fighting vehicles3,2623
Armored personnel carriers10,6441
Amphibious assault vehicles1,4011
Armored utility vehicles28,4451
Storage12,8001
Total60,9371

The U.S. is internalizing the lessons from the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, where Western-supplied anti-tank weapons and massed Ukrainian artillery have been cutting Russian tanks to pieces. As a result, the U.S. recently canceled an upgrade of the M1 Abrams in favor of a more ambitious upgrade.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is nervously eyeing a more confident China and a potential clash over Taiwan, where air and naval forces will be critical. However, a recent war game showed that Taiwanese mechanized ground forces, kitted out with American-made tanks and armored fighting vehicles, were critical in keeping the island autonomous.

2. Russia

According to Oryx, a Dutch open-source intelligence defense website, at time of writing, Russia has lost almost 2,800 main battle tanks since invading Ukraine. Considering that in the 2022 edition of the Military Balance, Russia was estimated to have 2,927 MBTs in operation, those are some hefty losses.

Russia has been able to maintain about 2,000 MBTs in the field, in part, by increasing domestic production. Many defense plants have been taken over by state-owned Rostec and now operate around the clock. Russia is also now spending a full third of their budget on defense, equivalent to about 7.5% of GDP.

At the same time, they’ve also been drawing down their Soviet-era stockpiles, which are modernized before being sent to the front. Just how long they can keep this up is an open question; their stockpiles are large, but not limitless. Here is what their storage levels look like:

Category20232024YOY change
Main battle tanks5,0004,000-20.0%
Armored reconnaissance1,000100-90.0%
Infantry fighting vehicles4,0002,800-30.0%
Armored personnel carriers6,0002,300-61.7%
Total16,0009,200-42.5%

3. China

China holds the third overall spot and top place globally for the number of main battle tanks in operation. Untypically, the People’s Liberation Army has no armored vehicles in storage, which perhaps isn’t surprising when you consider that China has been rapidly modernizing its military and that stockpiles usually contain older models.

China also has one of the world’s largest fleets of armored fighting vehicles, second only to the United States. Breaking down that headline number, we can also see that they have the largest number of light tanks, wheeled guns, and infantry fighting vehicles. 

CategoryVehiclesGlobal rank
Main battle tanks4,7001
Light tanks1,3301
Wheeled guns1,2501
Infantry fighting vehicles8,2001
Armored personnel carriers3,6045
Airborne combat vehicles1802
Amphibious assault vehicles9902
Total20,2543

This is equipment that would be integral if China were to make an attempt to reunify Taiwan with the mainland by force, where lightly armored mechanized units need to move with speed to occupy the island before Western allies can enter the fray. It’s worth noting that China also has one of the world’s largest fleets of amphibious assault vehicles.

End of the Tank?

Many commentators at the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were quick to predict the end of the tank, however, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the tank’s demise are greatly exaggerated.

With the U.S. and China both developing remote and autonomous armored vehicles, tanks could be quite different in the future, but there is nothing else that matches them for firepower, mobility, and survivability on the modern battlefield today.

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