Kuwait rose by 4 ranks among the ranking of countries listed in the 2021 Reporters Without Borders Index of Press Freedom, standing at 105 globally among 180 countries, Al Rai daily reported.
In the Gulf, Kuwait came first, followed by Qatar, which ranked 128 in the world, then the UAE at 131 globally, Oman 133, Bahrain 168, and Saudi Arabia ranked 170 in the world. The World Press Freedom Ranking is an assessment of the media situation in 180 countries, which shows that journalism faces severe obstacles in 73 countries while the profession is under restrictions in 59 other countries, out of a total of 73 percent of the countries evaluated.
In the Arab world, Tunisia ranked first and 73 in the world, followed by Comoros 84, Mauritania 94, Lebanon 107, Jordan 129, Palestine 132, Morocco 136, South Sudan 139, Algeria 146, Sudan 159, Iraq 163, Libya 165, Egypt 166, Yemen 169, Syria 173, and Djibouti 176.
In terms of the best countries for freedom of the press, Norway ranked first in the world ranking for the fifth year in a row, despite the fact that the media in this country faced some difficulties in accessing public information, which was due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
Finland maintained its position in second place, Sweden regained the third place, which it lost last year to Denmark. The 2021 version of the classification shows what can be described as the dominance of northern European countries with regards to press freedom, where the practice of the profession is considered ideal, or at least very satisfactory.