Bangladesh has advanced 16 spots in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ranking 149th out of 180 countries with a score of 33.71. 

In 2024, the country was placed 165th, and 163rd the year before. This is the first time since 2018 that Bangladesh has ranked within the top 150.

Despite the improvement, RSF still classifies the state of press freedom in Bangladesh as “very serious.”

Among South Asian countries, India ranked 151st, Pakistan 158th, and Bhutan 152nd — all behind Bangladesh. However, Nepal (90th), Sri Lanka (139th), and the Maldives (104th) ranked ahead.

RSF underscored that media freedom has reached its lowest global level in years. For the first time in the index’s history, journalism environments in over half of the countries assessed were described as “bad,” and less than a quarter as “satisfactory.”

The United States continued to decline, ranking 57th after falling 11 places in 2024 and two more this year, placing it below conflict-affected Sierra Leone. RSF attributed this decline to a “worrying deterioration” in press freedom during Donald Trump’s presidency, warning of an “authoritarian shift.”

Norway topped the index for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Estonia and the Netherlands in second and third places, respectively.

MSK/