Reporters without Borders just published its 2026 "World Press Freedom Index." It ranks 180 countries. The United States dropped seven places to 64 compared to 57 in 2025.
Ten African countries had better scores than the United States. The top five African press freedom countries were Seychelles (35), Ghana (39), Cape Verde (40), Mauritius (42) and Gabon (43). But African countries were also well represented at the bottom of the list. The five worst performers were Eritrea (180), Egypt (169), Djibouti (167), Sudan (161), and Ethiopia (148). Curiously, all five are in northeast Africa.
