21. 10. 2005

WORLDWIDE PRESS FREEDOM INDEX 2005

NEW YORK, October 21, 2005 – According to the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2005, three former Yugoslav countries are among top 60: Slovenia occupies 9th, Bosnia and Herzegovina is on 33rd, Macedonia 43rd and Croatia on 56th place. Serbia and Montenegro is ranked 65th on the Index of freedom of press. North Korea once again comes bottom of the Reporters Without Borders fourth annual World Press Freedom Index. It is closely followed in the 167-country list by Eritrea (166th) and Turkmenistan (165th), which are other “black holes” for freedom of expression. Some western democracies slipped down the Index. The United States fell more than 20 places and now occupy 44th position. Canada (21st) and France (30th) also dropped several places. At the top of the Index once again are northern European countries Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands, all sharing the first place, where robust press freedom is firmly established.