DUSHANBE, May 2, 2014, Asia-Plus – US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House ranks Tajikistan 175th among 197 countries in terms of the media environment.
Like Russia, which is ranked 176th, Tajikistan is rated as “Not Free.”
The report that was released on May 1 notes that the media freedom situation has worsened in Tajikistan in recent year. Compared to 2013 Tajikistan fell four places in Freedom House’s press freedom rankings.
Freedom House’s latest report on media freedom notes that most countries in Eurasia continue to have the world’s poorest ratings, with no country in the region rated as “Free.”
The annual report
Freedom of the Press 2014: Media Freedom Hits Decade Low
assesses the situation in 197 countries and territories during 2013.
According to the report, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran remained among the world”s eight worst-rated countries on press freedom. In all of these countries the media environment is incredibly restricted.
The media environment in the rest of Central Asia also remained very bleak. But the report praised as a “relative bright spot” some positive developments in Kyrgyzstan — despite its rating as “Not Free.”
According to the report, Europe boasts the highest level of press freedom worldwide.
Freedom of the Press
is a yearly report measuring the level of freedom and editorial independence enjoyed by the press in nations and significant disputed territories around the world.
Countries are given a total score from 0 (most free) to 100 (least free) on the basis of a set of 23 methodology questions and 109 indicators divided into three broad categories covering the legal, political, and economic environment. Based on the scores, the countries are then classified as “Free” (0 to 30), “Partly Free” (31 to 60), or “Not Free” (61 to 100).
