Press Freedom Index 2023 : Libya drops six places to 149th
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya fell six places to 149th in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom index for 2023 out of 180 countries, compared to 143rd place in 2022.
Libya ranks last among the five countries of the Arab Maghreb Union (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia).
However, Libya is ahead of Egypt in the North African region, and in 11th place in the Arab world.
RSF said in its 2023 press freedom report released on Wednesday on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, entitled: "World Press Freedom Ranking 2023: The dangers of the sham industry", that the situation in Libya remains worrying as "the country has been mired in a deep crisis since the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011".
It said "media and journalists are often forced to serve one of the parties to the conflict, to the detriment of editorial independence".
Among the member countries of the Arab Maghreb Union, Mauritania is in the lead at 86th place, followed by Tunisia at 121st place, down 27 places from 94th in 2022, Algeria at 136th, down two places, and Morocco at 144th, down 10 places from 134th in 2022.
Among the other Arab countries, Qatar is ranked 105th, Lebanon 119th, Somalia 141st, the United Arab Emirates 145th, Jordan 146th, Sudan 148th, Kuwait 154th, Oman 155th, Palestine 156th, Djibouti 162nd, Egypt 166th, Iraq 167th, Yemen 168th, Saudi Arabia 170th, Bahrain 171st and Syria 175th.
In sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia ranks 22nd followed by South Africa 25th, Trinidad and Tobago 30th, Cape Verde 33rd, Seychelles 34th, Gambia 46th, Côte d'Ivoire 54th, Burkina Faso 58th, Niger 61st, Ghana 62nd, Mauritius 63rd, Botswana 65th, Liberia 66th, Lesotho 67th, and Sierra Leone 74th.
The other rankings are Comoros 75th, Guinea Bissau 78th, Congo Brazzaville 81st, Malawi 82nd, Guinea 85th, Mauritania 86th, Zambia 87th, Gabon 94th, Central African Republic 98th, and Madagascar 101st.
The rest are Mozambique 102nd, Senegal 104th, Chad 109th, Benin 112th, Mali 113th, Burundi 114th, Kenya 116th, South Sudan 118th, Equatorial Guinea 120th, Tunisia 121st, Nigeria 123rd, Democratic Republic of Congo 124th, Angola 125th, Zimbabwe 126th, Ethiopia 130th, Rwanda 131st, Uganda 133rd, Algeria 136th, Cameroon 138th, Somalia 141st, Tanzania 143rd, Morocco 144th, Djibouti 162nd, Egypt 166th and Eritrea 174th.
As usual, the Nordic countries are in the lead with Norway in 1st place, Ireland 2nd, Denmark 3rd and Sweden 4th, while North Korea 180th and China 179th close the gap in the ranking for 2023.
0- PANA BY/IS/SOC/BBA/RA 3May2023
