Ranking of Press freedom in African countries

Press freedom supported by the right to information is one of the fundamentals of democracy. But journalists and media actors continue to face restrictions in all parts of the world. African countries are not an exception to it. Overview of the ranking of press freedom in Africa, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Africa is one of the parts of the world where press freedom is lagging. Although there have been improvements in some places, efforts for a freer, more independent press need to be strengthened. Below is the overall ranking of the top African countries in 2020.

A ranking proposed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – this recently published classification covers 180 countries and territories in the African continent.

RSF notes, however, that profound changes, the only way to foster the development of quality, free and independent journalism, are still too rare in some countries. Worse, in some countries such as Tanzania (124th, – 6) or Benin (113th, – 17) are experiencing very significant setbacks.

“Long-term arbitrary arrests and detentions are on the rise on the continent. Many forms of attacks, especially online, and new repressive laws, which, in the name of the fight against disinformation. Or cybercrime can be used to restrict freedom of information abusively,” warns the international NGO that defends press freedom and the protection of journalists.

Note that countries are rated on a scale of 100. The closer we get to this rate, the more freedom of the press is hampered in the country.

African countries in the RSF world press freedom ranking