In 2024, Jamaica had the highest press freedom score among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Central American nation scored 77.3 points on scale from 1 to 100. Two Caribbean countries – Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica – followed, with 76.69 and 76.13 points, respectively. The index presents an overview of the plurality and independence of the media and how safe and free it is for journalists to do their job, with lower scores indicating a worse situation for the press and higher scores a better one.
Press freedom laggards in the LATAM region
Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Cuba had the worst results in the region in 2023 - their scores stood below 38 points. Unsurprisingly, due to the political situation in these four countries, journalism there experiences high restrictions imposed by the governments in order to stifle access to information. In one country, private press is actually prohibited by constitution – for that reason Cuba has seen only the lowest press freedom scores year after year. Honduras, ranking second lowest on the index, has been noted to see declining press freedom scores since the coup d’etat in 2009. All in all, it comes as no surprise that trust in mass media in Latin America keeps deteriorating.
Dangers of being a journalist in Latin America
Mexico is considered the most dangerous country for journalist as it ranks high in terms of number of deaths not only in the Latin America region, but also the highest in the world. In 2022, Mexico was found to be the deadliest country for journalists worldwide, with more than 10 representatives of the press being killed that year. Colombia and Brazil follow second and third in the regional ranking, yet still far below the figures reported in Mexico.
Press freedom index in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024, by country
According to the source, the Index ranks 180 countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. It is a snapshot of the media freedom situation based on an evaluation of pluralism, independence of the media, quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each country and region. It does not rank public policies even if governments obviously have a major impact on their country’s ranking. Nor is it an indicator of the quality of journalism in each country or region.
The countries surveyed were scored between 0 and 100, with 0 being the worst possible result and 100 the best.
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Reporters Without Borders. (May 5, 2024). Press freedom index in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024, by country [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 05, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/955642/press-freedom-index-latin-america-caribbean-country/
Reporters Without Borders. "Press freedom index in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024, by country." Chart. May 5, 2024. Statista. Accessed October 05, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/955642/press-freedom-index-latin-america-caribbean-country/
Reporters Without Borders. (2024). Press freedom index in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024, by country. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 05, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/955642/press-freedom-index-latin-america-caribbean-country/
Reporters Without Borders. "Press Freedom Index in Latin America and The Caribbean in 2024, by Country." Statista, Statista Inc., 5 May 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/955642/press-freedom-index-latin-america-caribbean-country/
Reporters Without Borders, Press freedom index in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024, by country Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/955642/press-freedom-index-latin-america-caribbean-country/ (last visited October 05, 2024)
Press freedom index in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024, by country [Graph], Reporters Without Borders, May 5, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/955642/press-freedom-index-latin-america-caribbean-country/