Ukraine has climbed in the global press freedom rankings
In the new Reporters Without Borders index released on April 30, 2026, Ukraine improved its ranking, rising from 62nd to 55th place. At the same time, the overall level of press freedom worldwide continues to decline.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its new press freedom ranking on Thursday, April 30, analyzing the situation in 180 countries worldwide.
It is noted that last year Ukraine ranked 62nd, but has significantly improved its position this year. Ukraine now ranks 55th in the index.
RSF highlighted five key findings from the new ranking:
- The average score for all countries and territories worldwide has never been this low. For the first time in the Index’s 25-year history, more than half of the world’s countries now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories in terms of press freedom.
- Of the five indicators used to assess press freedom worldwide—which evaluate the economic, legal, security, political, and social environment for journalism—the legal indicator has deteriorated the most this year.
- The United States dropped seven places, while other countries in the Americas, such as Ecuador and Peru, fell sharply in the rankings.
- Norway has held the top spot for the tenth consecutive year, while Eritrea has ranked last for the third consecutive year.
- Post-Assad Syria showed the greatest improvement in press freedom among all countries and territories in the 2026 Index, climbing 36 places in the ranking.
Previously, Ukraine ranked third in Europe in terms of data openness.
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