Ukraine rose in the world press freedom ranking and surpassed the USA and Italy

Ukraine has improved its position in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, published annually by the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). This year, the country ranked 55th out of 180 countries in the world, rising seven places.

In the new ranking, Ukraine surpassed the United States, Italy, and Hungary. The country’s overall score was 66.10 points out of 100 possible.

The biggest problem is the safety of journalists

Despite the overall improvement in its position, the safety of journalists remains the most problematic area for Ukraine.

According to this indicator, the country was only in 128th place due to constant military risks, Russian attacks on the media, threats to the lives of journalists, and work in conditions of hostilities.

RSF emphasizes that Russia’s full-scale invasion has created unprecedented pressure on the Ukrainian media sector. Many editorial offices were forced to evacuate, work under fire, or actually lost the ability to function normally.

At the same time, international experts note that Ukrainian media have become one of the key tools for countering Russian propaganda and disinformation during the war.

Ukraine has improved its position by more than 50 points in four years

RSF draws attention to the positive dynamics of Ukraine in recent years.

If in 2022 the country was in 106th position, then:

in 2023 it rose to 79th place;

in 2024 – to 61st;

after a fall in 2025, it returned to growth in 2026.

Thus, in four years Ukraine has improved its position in the world press freedom ranking by more than 50 points.

Freedom of speech in the world is deteriorating

The RSF report notes that the overall situation with press freedom in the world continues to deteriorate.

For the first time in the 25 years of the rating, more than half of the world’s countries fell into the categories with a “difficult” or “very serious” situation with respect to freedom of speech.

Among the main reasons:

increasing authoritarian tendencies;

pressure on journalists due to national security laws;

censorship;

the economic crisis of the media.

Norway, the Netherlands, Estonia and Denmark remain the leaders of the rating.

The worst indicators were recorded in Eritrea, North Korea, China and Russia.

Russia fell to 172nd place this year. RSF claims that dozens of journalists in the Russian Federation are in prison, and independent media are forced to work in exile due to repression and persecution.