Eritrea comes last, replacing North Korea, while China and Burma still rank near bottom

North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea the worst violators of press freedom

North Korea, Eritrea and Turkmenistan are the world’s “black holes” for news

East Asia and Middle East have worst press freedom records

Cuba second from last, just ahead of North Korea. United States and Israel singled out for actions beyond their borders.

The first worldwide index of press freedom has some surprises for Western democracies. The United States ranks below Costa Rica and Italy scores lower than Benin. The five countries with least press freedom are North Korea, China, Burma, Turkmenistan and Bhutan.

Media freedom violations seem to be taking a growing toll on journalists in Africa. The biggest deterioration was seen in South Sudan (140th), which fell 15 places in the Index. In this country torn by civil war since 2013, journalists fell victim to the conflict’s violence and a campaign of intimidation by the authorities.

The Middle East and North Africa continued to be one of the world’s most difficult and dangerous regions for journalists, who in many places were trapped between rival factions, belligerents, radical groups and governments that behave in an extreme fashion and are often adept at their own terror strategies.

Media freedom declined in the Americas in 2015 because of mounting political tension in many countries fuelled by economic recession, uncertainty about the future and weakening solidarity between communities.

The media freedom situation worsened significantly or stagnated in most of the Asia-Pacific region. The decline affected eastern Asia’s democracies, previously regarded as regional models.