Bangladesh ranked in the lowest fourth of all countries in the world with respect to freedom of the press in 2015, performing even worse than war-torn Afghanistan, insurgency-ridden Myanmar and occupied Palestine.
The country ranked 146th among 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index with a score of 42.95, far lower than its highest ever ranking of 118 in 2002, the first year the global index was published.
The country slipped two spots from its previous ranking of 144 which it maintained in 2014 and 2013.
Bangladesh’s lowest ever ranking was 151 in both 2005 and 2004.
The annual index of countries’ performances in protecting journalists and press freedoms is authored by Reporters Without Borders.
The World Press Freedom Index considers a range of criteria in preparing the ranking that include media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operates.
“There was a drastic decline in freedom of information in 2014. Two-thirds of the 180 countries surveyed for the 2015 World Press Freedom Index performed less well than in the previous year. The annual global indicator, which measures the overall level of violations of freedom of information in 180 countries year by year, has risen to 3,719, an 8 percent increase over 2014 and almost 10 percent compared with 2013. The decline affected all continents,” the index report said.
According to the 2015 index, the list is topped by three Nordic countries: Finland, which has been in first place for five years in succession, followed by Norway and Denmark. At the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, in last place, were the worst performers.
The 2015 World Press Freedom Index highlights the worldwide deterioration in freedom of information in 2014.
Beset by wars, the growing threat from non-state operatives, violence during demonstrations and the economic crisis, media freedom is in retreat on all five continents.
The reasons for the worrying decline are news control as used as a weapon of war; non-state groups muzzling the press; blasphemy laws enabling the political use of religious censorship; increased hazards in covering demonstrations; national security rhetoric and laws offering spurious grounds for media control and regimes seeking ever more control over information.
The index’s author, Reporters Without Borders, was founded in Montpellier, France in 1985.
Registered as a non-profit organisation in France since 1995, the organisation soon took on an international dimension and has consultant status at the United Nations and UNESCO.
It is the 2013 winner of the Freedom of Speech Award of the International Association of Press Clubs.
The organisation currently has two essential and highly specialised spheres of activity: one focused on internet censorship and the new media, and the other devoted to providing material, financial and psychological assistance to journalists assigned to dangerous areas.
