May 2, Pozirk. Belarus ranks 166th of 180 assessed countries and territories in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
The ranking placed Belarus between Cuba and Azerbaijan, stressing that the country continues a massive crackdown on independent media outlets and journalists. Last year, it was down 10 places in the RSF Index after being 157th in 2023.
Belarus is one of the 34 countries, along with Nicaragua, Iran, Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan, that stand out for the mass closures of their media outlets and exile of journalists in recent years, the RSF noted.
Access to independent information in Belarus is restricted due to “economic asphyxiation” of the media outlets operating from exile that are forced to carry out mass layoffs due to a lack of local revenue and US support, the analysis said.
Globally, press freedom is also threatened as the Index described the conditions for practicing journalism as “difficult” or “very serious” in over half of the world’s countries and satisfactory in fewer than one in four.
The world’s 10 best countries for journalists are Norway, Estonia, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Russia, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, China, North Korea and Eritrea conclude the ranking with the worst press freedom score.
On the eve of May 3, World Press Freedom Day, at least 40 media workers are behind bars in Belarus, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
