World free press freedom dayBD advances 16 spots in a year on press freedom index

Bangladesh has advanced 16 spots among 180 countries on 2025 World Press Freedom Index prepared by the Paris-headquartered Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bangladesh secured 33.71 points in the index, up from 27.64 it achieved last year. It has been ranked 149th, up from 165th in 2024.

The country has entered into the group of top 150 for the first time since 2018, and has beaten India, Pakistan and Bhutan in South Asia. India is ranked 151st while Pakistan is ranked 158th. India was ahead of Bangladesh last year, when it was ranked 159th.

The change of government, following last year’s anti-fascist uprising, has likely played a major role in taking Bangladesh ahead of strong South Asian peers.

However, Bangladesh continued to trail Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives as it did last year.

Norway leads the global list with a score of 92.31 points, followed by Estonia, Netherlands, Sweden and Finland. It is worth noting that all the top ten countries belong to the continent of Europe.