Mozambique worsened its performance in the World Press Freedom Index, dropping three places from last year. The country was ranked 105th out of 180 nations analysed. If we consider only the African continent, Mozambique is ranked 30th, with a score almost similar to Angola and below neighbouring countries, except Zimbabwe.
The World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of journalists founded in 1985 in Montpellier, France, is the most widely used indicator for comparing the level of media freedom (i.e. the power of journalists to carry out their work without political, economic, legal, cultural or security constraints) in 180 countries.
The index is based on quantitative data (for example, the number of deaths and reports of press freedom abuses) and qualitative data (direct surveys) and the score ranges from zero to 100 (the highest level of press freedom).
In this year’s report, the country recorded a score of 52.4 (down from 56.1 last year), equivalent to 105th place in the world and a drop of three places. By criteria, the analysts assessed the country’s performance better in terms of economic pressure (78th in the world), legal pressure (81st), cultural pressure and security pressure (both 87th), while political pressure on the press (116th) is the worst of the five dimensions analysed.
Mozambique in 30th place in Africa
At African level, the ranking is led by Namibia, Seychelles and South Africa, followed by Cape Verde and Ghana. Mozambique is in 30th place out of the 50 countries analysed on the continent. Its score is almost similar to that of Angola (29th), below neighbours such as South Africa (3rd), Malawi (11th), Zambia (24th), Tanzania (26th) and Kenya (28th) and above only Zimbabwe (34th).
Analysts said that the results were influenced by the large number of elections held last year, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which resulted in violent incidents with journalists in Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, DRCongo, Congo, Madagascar and Senegal. With regard to Mozambique, they draw attention to the security risks in accessing the north of the country, as well as the death of journalist João Chamusse in December.
Portugal in seventh position worldwide
The top of the list is dominated by the Nordic countries: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland, in that order. Among the countries that also speak Portuguese, the highlight goes to the remarkable performance of Portugal (seventh place in the world), East Timor (20th), Cape Verde (41st) and Brazil (80th).
Press freedom: world ranking
1. Norway 91.9
2. Denmark 89.6
3. Sweden 88.3
4. Netherlands 87.7
5. Finland 86.6
6. Estonia 86.4
7. Portugal 85.9
8. Ireland 85.6
9. Switzerland 84
10. Germany 83.8
Score ranges from 0 to 100 (the higher the score, the greater the press freedom).
Source: 2024 World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders, May 2024)
Jaime Fidalgo
