PARIS: India has fallen to 157th place out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2026 released on Thursday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), reflecting a deepening global crisis for journalism in the country.
The ranking marks a six-place drop from India’s 151st position in 2025. RSF said the global environment for press freedom has deteriorated sharply over the past year.
According to RSF, India has been placed in the “very serious” category for press freedom conditions.
The report said the country has seen a worsening of legal conditions for journalism, with increasing use of national security laws, defamation provisions and other statutes against journalists.
It added that judicial harassment of independent media is intensifying, contributing to a more restrictive environment for press freedom.
RSF said India is among countries where the legal indicator has deteriorated most sharply in 2026.
The 2026 index assessed 180 countries using five indicators — economic, legal, political, social and security conditions.
RSF said the legal indicator recorded the steepest decline, worsening in more than 60 per cent of countries.
It warned that the criminalisation of journalism, including the misuse of national security laws and emergency legislation, has become a global trend.
“For the first time since the Index began in 2001, more than half of the world’s countries fall into the ‘difficult’ or ‘very serious’ categories,” the report said.
RSF added that the average global score has “never been so low” in 25 years.
The report highlighted widespread declines across multiple regions, particularly in conflict-affected states.
It said Eastern Europe and West Asia remain among the most dangerous regions for journalists.
In Palestine, RSF noted that more than 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, with nearly 70 killed while performing their work.
Afghanistan was ranked 175th, with RSF stating that independent journalism has been “effectively prohibited in practice” since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The United States fell seven places to 64th position, continuing a downward trend since 2022.
The report also cited what it called “systematic weaponisation of state institutions” and funding cuts to public broadcasters.
It said the situation has contributed to one of the most severe declines in press freedom in modern US history.
RSF said the findings highlight a long-term deterioration in press freedom worldwide.
“In 2002, 20 per cent of the world’s population lived in a country where press freedom was rated ‘good’. Twenty-five years later, less than 1 per cent does,” the report said.
It warned that journalism is being “asphyxiated by hostile political discourse, weakened media economies, and laws used as weapons against the press”.
