Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambique rose 14 places – ,from 116th to 102nd position – in the World Press Freedom Index, a ranking of 180 countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Most other Portuguese-speaking countries improved their position in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, with only Angola and Portugal falling.
Among the eight of the nine Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) states in the index (São Tomé and Príncipe is not included), Timor-Leste rose seven places to occupy second-best position (10th), just behind Portugal (9th).
Cape Verde also improved in the ranking, now occupying the 33rd position (36th in 2022).
Guinea-Bissau is now in 78th place, having risen 14 places in relation to the previous year, and Brazil in 92nd place (up 18 places).
Mozambique recorded a rise of 14 places, now occupying 102nd place, while Equatorial Guinea, which rose 21 places, is now in 120th position.
Angola registers the worst result among the Portuguese-speaking countries, now occupying the 125th place in the ranking, having also registered the sharpest decline (26 positions) among the CPLP states ranked.
According to the note that accompanies the 21st edition of the RSF Press Freedom Index, “some of the 2023 Index’s biggest falls have been in Africa. Until recently a regional model, Senegal (104th) has fallen 31 places, above all because of the criminal charges brought against two journalists, Pape Alé Niang and Pape Ndiaye, and the sharp decline in security for media personnel”.
“In the Maghreb, Tunisia (121st) has fallen 27 places as a result of President Kais Saied’s growing authoritarianism and inability to tolerate media criticism,” the note reads.
“Even if Africa has seen a few significant rises, such as that of Botswana (65th), which has risen 35 places, journalism overall has become more difficult in this continent, and the situation is now classified as ‘bad’ in nearly 40% of its countries (against 33% in 2022). They include Burkina Faso (58th), where local retransmission of international broadcasters has been banned and journalists have been deported, and the Sahel in general, which is in the process of becoming a “no-news zone”. Several journalists have also been murdered in Africa, including Martinez Zongo in Cameroon (138th). In Eritrea (174th), the media remain in President Issaias Afwerki’s despotic grip,” the RSF note on Africa adds.
2023 World Press Freedom Index:
1: Norway 🇳🇴
2: Ireland 🇮🇪
3: Denmark 🇩🇰
24: France 🇫🇷
26: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
45: United States 🇺🇸
68: Japan 🇯🇵
92: Brazil 🇧🇷
161: India 🇮🇳
136: Algeria 🇩🇿
179: China 🇨🇳
180: North Korea 🇰🇵
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