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AI-Generated Summary Singapore retained 123rd place but its overall press freedom score fell from 45.78 to 44.57, with its legislative indicator dropping to 164th. The 2026 index recorded its lowest global average score in the publication's 25-year history, with over half of surveyed countries rated "difficult" or "very serious." RSF cited SLAPPs, national security law misuse and criminalisation of journalism as the primary drivers of global press freedom decline.   Singapore has maintained its position of 123rd out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on 30 April. However, the city-state's overall score declined to 44.57, down from 45.78 recorded in 2025, reflecting a deteriorating environment for journalism across several key indicators. The report was released against a backdrop of record-low global press freedom, with RSF noting that the 2026 index recorded the lowest average score across all surveyed countries and territories in the publication's 25-year history. Singapore's scorecard: stagnant ranking, declining scores While Singapore's overall ranking remained unchanged, the underlying data reveals a more complex picture. The legislative indicator recorded the steepest decline, falling three places to 164th out of 180, with its score dropping markedly from 27.66 to 24.82. This places Singapore among the worst-performing countries globally on the legal environment for journalists. The social indicator also worsened considerably, sliding from 125th to 137th, with its score falling from 48.77 to 42.21. These two indicators dragged the overall score downward despite modest improvements elsewhere. Singapore's economic indicator improved slightly, rising from 120th to 110th place, with the score moving from 35.99 to 37.59. The political indicator edged upward in ranking from 133rd to 127th, though the score improvement was marginal, from 33.16 to 33.98. The security indicator remained unchanged at 75th place, with a marginally improved score of 84.23 compared with 83.30 in 2025. SLAPPs identified as a structural threat The 2026 RSF index characterised Singapore as a country where political and business elites exploit a legal framework that RSF assessed as offering inadequate protection for the press. In its Asia-Pacific analysis, RSF grouped Singapore alongside Indonesia and Thailand as jurisdictions where, in the organisation's assessment, journalists are routinely subjected to strategic lawsuits against public participation — known as SLAPPs — which RSF described as abusive legal actions used to financially drain and silence reporters and media organisations. RSF framed such suits as instruments of a broader global trend it termed "lawfare," defining it as the use of legal mechanisms not to deliver justice but to suppress independent reporting. The organisation noted that the same pattern had been identified in Bulgaria, Guatemala and France, and said this underscored that the phenomenon is not confined to any single region or political system. Asia-Pacific context: a region under mounting pressure Singapore's position sits within one of the world's most repressive regions for press freedom. According to RSF, 21 of the 32 countries and territories assessed across the Asia-Pacific zone recorded a press freedom classification of either "difficult" or "very serious." Singapore's score of 44.57 places it within the "difficult" category, defined as covering scores between 40 and 55 points. No country in the Asia-Pacific region features in the global top 20. New Zealand ranked highest in the region at 22nd, despite slipping six places. Taiwan ranked 28th, followed by Timor-Leste at 30th and Australia at 33rd. RSF described these countries as exceptions in a region where press freedom is being steadily eroded. The report noted that censorship and propaganda tactics developed by regional authoritarian regimes — China foremost among them — are now spreading well beyond their borders. In Vietnam (174th) and Myanmar (166th), so-called cybersecurity laws modelled on Beijing's legal framework have become key instruments of online censorship. China (178th) currently holds 121 media professionals behind bars, making it the world's largest jailer of journalists, according to RSF. North Korea ranked 179th, where independent journalism is banned outright and only state propaganda is permitted. In India (157th), judicial harassment of independent media is intensifying through the growing use of criminal statutes including defamation and national security laws. In the Philippines (114th), terrorism charges have become a preferred method for silencing reporters. Journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who was held for six years on what RSF described as fabricated charges, now holds the record as the country's longest-imprisoned journalist on bogus terrorism-related grounds. In Hong Kong (140th), a national security law has allowed authorities to imprison independent publisher Jimmy Lai, who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison — the heaviest sentence ever imposed on a journalist in the territory. Hong Kong has fallen 122 places in the index since Beijing tightened its control over the territory. In Japan (62nd), state secrecy legislation continues to have a chilling effect on journalism, with RSF noting that inadequate protections for source confidentiality breed self-censorship. South Korea (47th) also drew attention for government measures introduced under the banner of combating "false information," which press freedom organisations have criticised as threatening to the right to report. Global index records historic low The 2026 index marks the first time in the publication's 25-year history that more than half the world's countries — 52.2 per cent — have fallen into the "difficult" or "very serious" categories. In 2002, that figure stood at just 13.7 per cent. In the same year, 20 per cent of the global population lived in a country where press freedom was rated "good." By 2026, that figure has fallen to less than one per cent. The legal indicator recorded the most severe decline of any of the five assessment categories, deteriorating in more than 60 per cent of states — 110 out of 180 — between 2025 and 2026. RSF attributed this principally to the expanding misuse of national security laws, which have increasingly been used to prohibit coverage of matters of public interest. The criminalisation of journalism Twenty-five years after the September 2001 attacks in the United States, RSF found that expanding the scope of national security and defence secrets has become a means to restrict journalism in a growing number of countries. This trend, originally concentrated in authoritarian regimes, has gained traction in democracies as well. Russia (172nd), under Vladimir Putin, has become a specialist in deploying counter-terrorism, separatism and extremism laws to restrict press freedom. As of April 2026, 48 journalists were behind bars in Russia. Journalists who have gone into exile remain subject to legal persecution that extends beyond the country's borders. Similar tactics were documented in Belarus (165th), Myanmar (166th), Nicaragua (168th) and Egypt (169th). In Ethiopia (148th), four journalists have been imprisoned for three years on terrorism-related charges. In Burundi (119th), journalist Sandra Muhoza was prosecuted for "undermining the integrity of the national territory," a charge RSF described as routinely misused in the Great Lakes region. In Türkiye (163rd), charges including "disinformation," "insulting the President" and "denigrating state institutions" are regularly used to imprison media professionals. In Tunisia (137th), a decree-law on "false information" has effectively criminalised journalism critical of the authorities. Iran (177th) remains near the bottom of the ranking, held back by the regime's crackdown on the press. Eritrea (180th) ranked last for the third consecutive year; journalist Dawit Isaak has been jailed without trial for 25 years. The Americas: political violence and a fracturing free press The United States fell seven places to 64th in the 2026 index. RSF attributed the decline to the Trump administration's systematic attacks on the press, including the detention and subsequent deportation of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara, and drastic cuts to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) workforce. These cuts led to the closure, suspension and downsizing of international broadcasters including Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) — organisations that served as among the last reliable sources of information in some countries. RSF noted that since 2022, the overall ranking decline of the 28 countries in the Americas has been comparable to the deterioration recorded in Eastern Europe–Central Asia and the Middle East–North Africa, historically the two most dangerous regions for journalists. Argentina (98th, down 11 places) and El Salvador (143rd, down 8 places) both recorded significant declines, which RSF linked to rising government hostility towards the press under Presidents Javier Milei and Nayib Bukele respectively. Ecuador (125th) dropped 31 places following the murders of journalists Darwin Baque and Patricio Aguilar in 2025. Peru (144th) fell 14 places after four journalists were killed the same year. Venezuela (159th), Cuba (160th) and Nicaragua (168th) all remained near the bottom of the global ranking. Major movers and the Norway benchmark Norway retained the top spot in the index for the tenth consecutive year. Post-Assad Syria recorded the largest single-year improvement of any country, climbing 36 places to 141st following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024. The steepest fall recorded in the 2026 index was Niger (120th), which dropped 37 places, reflecting wider press freedom decline across the Sahel region as attacks by armed groups and ruling juntas have suppressed independent reporting. Saudi Arabia also fell 14 places, which RSF linked to repeated acts of violence against journalists in 2025, including the execution of Turki al-Jasser. RSF Editorial Director Anne Bocandé said the organisation was not merely looking back at 25 years of decline but asking how much longer the suffocation of journalism would be tolerated. She called for firm guarantees, meaningful sanctions and an end to the criminalisation of journalism, adding that current protection mechanisms are not strong enough and that impunity remains widespread. She said the responsibility to act rests with democracies and their citizens. Methodology RSF compiles the index using a score between 0 and 100 assigned to each country, with 100 representing the highest level of press freedom and 0 the lowest. The score is calculated from two components: a quantitative tally of abuses against journalists and a qualitative analysis drawn from responses to an RSF questionnaire completed by press freedom specialists across 25 languages. Five contextual indicators — political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety — each contribute equally to the overall score. Scores are classified as follows: 85 to 100 is rated "good"; 70 to 85 is "satisfactory"; 55 to 70 is "problematic"; 40 to 55 is "difficult"; and 0 to 40 is "very serious." The index reflects the press freedom situation during the prior calendar year, though data may be updated to account for significant developments occurring before publication.

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