Tajikistan’s press freedom score declines by three points, the Freedom House said in its report. Tajikistan’s status remains Not Free. The 2012 Freedom House report is available at its official website.
With 79 points Tajikistan ranked 171st. In last year’s report Tajikistan shared 168th position with Ethiopia and Sudan having 78 points.
Of the 197 countries and territories assessed during 2011, a total of 66 (33.5 percent) were rated Free, 72 (36.5 percent) were rated Partly Free, and 59 (30 percent) were rated Not Free.
Scandinavia, West Europe and North America have less pressure on the press. Finland ranked first. Norway, Sweden, Belgium and Denmark are countries with most free press. The United States ranked 22, with 80 points Russia shares 172nd position with Zimbabwe and Azerbaijan.
With 81 points Kazakhstan shares 175th position with Ethiopia and Gambia. Kyrgyzstan has the best score as compared to other Central Asian countries. It has 69 points sharing 155th position with Iraq and Togo.
As usual, Uzbekistan (195), Turkmenistan (196) and North Korea (197) are in the bottom of the ranking table.
The year 2011 featured precarious but potentially far-reaching gains for media freedom in the Middle East and North Africa. Major steps forward were recorded in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, where longtime dictators were removed after successful popular uprisings.
