Table of African Countries
65 up or down indicates a change in
Status since the last survey. In the Table, click on the status preceding the arrow for an explanation of the status
change in the selected country.
|
Country |
Legal Environment
(0-30) |
Political Environment
(0-40) |
Economic Environment
(0-30) |
Total Score
(0-100) |
Status |
|
Angola |
18 |
27 |
21 |
66 |
Not Free |
|
Benin |
9 |
11 |
10 |
30 |
Free |
|
Botswana |
6 |
14 |
10 |
30 |
Free |
|
Burkina Faso |
11 |
15 |
13 |
39 |
Partly Free |
|
Burundi |
21 |
30 |
24 |
75 |
Not Free |
|
Cameroon |
21 |
25 |
21 |
67 |
Not Free |
|
Cape Verde |
8 |
16 |
12 |
36 |
Partly Free 6 |
|
Central African Republic |
25 |
22 |
17 |
64 |
Not Free |
|
Chad |
24 |
29 |
21 |
74 |
Not Free |
|
Comoros |
12 |
20 |
13 |
45 |
Partly Free |
|
Congo-Brazzaville |
17 |
20 |
17 |
54 |
Partly Free |
|
Congo-Kinshasa |
25 |
31 |
24 |
80 |
Not Free |
|
Côte d'Ivoire |
19 |
29 |
17 |
65 |
Not Free |
|
Djibouti |
21 |
25 |
20 |
66 |
Not Free |
|
Equatorial Guinea |
26 |
35 |
28 |
89 |
Not Free |
|
Eritrea |
28 |
38 |
23 |
89 |
Not Free |
|
Ethiopia |
24 |
23 |
19 |
66 |
Not Free |
|
Gabon |
22 |
20 |
20 |
62 |
Not Free 6 |
|
The Gambia |
20 |
25 |
18 |
63 |
Not Free |
|
Ghana |
9 |
9 |
10 |
28 |
Free |
|
Guinea |
24 |
29 |
18 |
71 |
Not Free |
|
Guinea-Bissau |
17 |
27 |
19 |
63 |
Not Free 6 |
|
Kenya |
20 |
21 |
19 |
60 |
Partly Free 5 |
|
Lesotho |
11 |
15 |
14 |
40 |
Partly Free |
|
Liberia |
19 |
33 |
23 |
75 |
Not Free |
|
Madagascar |
11 |
18 |
12 |
41 |
Partly Free |
|
Malawi |
15 |
22 |
15 |
52 |
Partly Free |
|
Mali |
8 |
10 |
9 |
27 |
Free |
|
Mauritania |
23 |
22 |
19 |
64 |
Not Free |
|
Mauritius |
5 |
10 |
11 |
26 |
Free |
|
Mozambique |
13 |
17 |
15 |
45 |
Partly Free |
|
Namibia |
9 |
12 |
13 |
34 |
Partly Free |
|
Niger |
20 |
20 |
16 |
56 |
Partly Free |
|
Nigeria |
15 |
23 |
15 |
53 |
Partly Free |
|
Rwanda |
24 |
33 |
25 |
82 |
Not Free |
|
São Tomé & Príncipe |
4 |
10 |
14 |
28 |
Free |
|
Senegal |
12 |
16 |
9 |
37 |
Partly Free |
|
Seychelles |
17 |
17 |
18 |
52 |
Partly Free |
|
Sierra Leone |
18 |
20 |
20 |
58 |
Partly Free 5 |
|
Somalia |
24 |
33 |
23 |
80 |
Not Free |
|
South Africa |
7 |
8 |
9 |
24 |
Free |
|
Sudan |
27 |
33 |
25 |
85 |
Not Free |
|
Swaziland |
23 |
28 |
26 |
77 |
Not Free |
|
Tanzania |
18 |
17 |
15 |
50 |
Partly Free |
|
Togo |
25 |
32 |
21 |
78 |
Not Free |
|
Uganda |
16 |
17 |
11 |
44 |
Partly Free |
|
Zambia |
19 |
24 |
20 |
63 |
Not Free |
|
Zimbabwe |
30 |
34 |
25 |
89 |
Not Free |
Survey Methodology
The Legal Environment encompasses both an examination of the laws and regulations that could influence media content
as well as the government’s inclination to use these laws and legal institutions in order to restrict the media’s
ability to operate. Issues assessed include the positive impact of legal and constitutional guarantees for freedom of expression;
the potentially negative aspects of security legislation, the penal code and other criminal statutes; penalties for libel
and defamation; the existence of and ability to use Freedom of Information legislation; the independence of the judiciary
and of official media regulatory bodies; registration requirements for both media outlets and journalists; and the ability
of journalists’ groups to operate freely.
Under the category of Political Environment, the survey evaluates the degree of political control over the content of news media. Issues
examined in this category include the editorial independence of both the state-owned and privately-owned media; access to
information and sources; official censorship and self-censorship; the vibrancy of the media; the ability of both foreign and
local reporters to cover the news freely and without harassment; and the intimidation of journalists by the state or other
actors, including arbitrary detention and imprisonment, violent assaults, and other threats.
Economic Environment: This includes the structure of media ownership; transparency and concentration of ownership;
the costs of establishing media as well as of production and distribution; the selective withholding of advertising or subsidies
by the state or other actors; the impact of corruption and bribery on content; and the extent to which the economic situation
in a country impacts the development of the media.
Total Score and Status: A country’s total score is based on the total of the three categories: a score of 0-30
places the country in the free-press group, 31-60 in partly-free, and 61-100 in the not free-press group.
Cape Verde’s rating fell from Free to Partly Free to reflect the continued influence
of the government over the broadcast media and of the ruling party over the privately owned media, both of which have contributed
to reports of growing self-censorship among journalists.
Gabon’s status changed from Partly Free to Not Free due to the continued crackdown on the private press and the
government’s persistent habit of de-licensing private news organizations, as well as an overall countrywide worsening
of the free speech environment.
Guinea-Bissau’s rating moved from Partly Free to Not Free to reflect an increase in press freedom violations by
the government against both the private and public media in an attempt to silence opposition voices related to the elections.
Kenya’s status improved from Not Free to Partly Free because the number of press freedom abuses has decreased and
the media generally enjoy greater editorial freedom under a new government elected in December 2002.
Sierra Leone’s status improved from Not Free to Partly Free, reflecting a continued improvement in the ability of
media outlets to report freely since the end of the civil conflict in January 2002.
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