By Ajith Siriwardana

Sri Lanka ranked 150 in the 2024 edition of the Press Freedom Index, published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which is a remarkable drop of 15 positions from 135 to 150 when compared to 2023.
According to the index, Sri Lanka’s overall score has dropped from 45.85 to 35.21.

However, Sri Lanka ranked higher than India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Norway ranked in the top position while Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland ranked in the second, third, fourth and fifth positions and Eritrea ranked in the last position.

The RSF’s ranking is based on five indicators of political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety of journalists.

RSF annual report said journalism is still in danger in Sri Lanka, with a media sector lacking diversity and highly dependent on major political clans.

The report said no journalist has been killed since 2015, but the previous killings have gone completely unpunished.

According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, RSF said press freedom around the world is being threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors – political authorities. This finding is based on the fact that, of the five indicators used to compile the ranking, it is the political indicator that has fallen the most, registering a global average fall of 7.6 points.