World Sees Media as a Little More Free

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Amid rising concerns about the freedom of the press across much of the world this World Press Freedom Day, the world in general is more likely to see the media as having a lot of freedom than it was a few years ago.

Across 133 countries surveyed last year -- one of the deadliest on record for journalists -- a median of 64% of adults agreed the media in their country have a lot of freedom, while 28% disagreed. These results are similar to the 2017 figures, but represent a slight improvement from 2016.

These perceptions vary around the world, however, and in 28 countries, less than half of adults say their media have a lot of freedom. Many of these are states with poor track records on media freedom (such as Belarus or Republic of the Congo) and where there is increasing evidence of eroding media freedom (such as Gabon, where a newspaper was temporarily shuttered in 2018 for reporting on the president's health).

	Yes, media have a lot of freedom
	%
Comoros	35
Venezuela	35
Belarus	34
Turkey	32
Singapore	30
Togo	30
Gabon	29
Ukraine	29
Yemen	28
Republic of the Congo	27
Mauritania	18
Gallup World Poll, 2018

As in past years, European nations dominate the list of countries with the highest perceived media freedom. More than nine in 10 adults in Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland say their media have a lot of freedom. The only non-European country in that very top range is Canada.

	Yes, media have a lot of freedom
	%
Denmark	98
Norway	96
Netherlands	94
Finland	92
Canada	91
Sweden	91
Switzerland	91
Australia	89
New Zealand	89
Taiwan	89
Gallup World Poll, 2018

Canada's neighbor to the south -- where the media have routinely been called "fake news" and the "enemy of the people" for the past two years -- narrowly misses making the top 10 list. Eighty-eight percent of Americans say the media in their country are free. This is in line with results in 2017, but up from levels in 2015 and 2016, when figures were in the lower 80s.

The increase in the U.S. given the prickly relationship between President Donald Trump and the mainstream media may be an unintended byproduct of this environment. It's possible that the intense focus on the media over the past several years has created more visibility to its role as a government watchdog, and a hyper focus on its freedom.

Read more Gallup analysis about the media.

For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.

Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.