Human Rights: Press Freedom in the Middle East

The annual Freedom of the Press Index (published by Freedom House NGO) assesses the degree of print, broadcast, and internet freedom in every country in the world, analyzing the events and developments of each calendar year. Ratings are determined through an examination of three broad categories: the legal environment in which media operate; political influences on reporting and access to information; and, economic pressures on content and the dissemination of news.

Ratings reflect not just government actions and policies, but the behavior of the press in testing boundaries, even in restrictive environments, as well as the impact of nonstate actors. Each country receives a numerical rating from 0 (most free) to 100 (least free), which serves as the basis for a status designation of Free, Partly Free or Not Free.

The following chart ranks the Middle East:

Source: Freedom House