• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

The United States ranks among the nations with the largest decline in press freedoms, judging by a study from Issuu.

The average press freedom score in all countries decline  from an average of 68.1 in 2022 to 67.2 in 2025. The steepest declines were in:

• Argentina: 77.3 → 56.1 (−21)
• Peru: 61.8 → 42.7 (−19)
• Kenya: 64.6 → 49.4 (−15)
• India: 41.0 → 33.0 (−8)
• United States: 72.7 → 65.5 (−7)

The countries with the greatest press freedoms are Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. All have a score of 85-100, and are known for independent journalism and transparency, the study states.

Nations with the most restricted press freedoms are Turkey, India, Hong Kong, Peru, and Indonesia, each of which has scores from 29–45.

Then there is the issue of trust. 

The average trust score for all 46 countries studied is 41.1%, compared to 39.4% in 2023. Most democracies were stable, but the following countries suffered declines:

• Bulgaria: 39% → 26% (−13)
• Romania: 35% → 26% (−9)
• Poland: 56% → 47% (−9)
• Hungary: 30% → 22% (−8)
• South Africa: 61% → 55% (−6) 

At the very bottom of the global rankings were Greece and Hungary. 

The United States has a trust score of only 32%, matched. by 33% in the UK. 

This study is based on an analysis that combines four years of data (2022–2025) from the Reuters Institute Digital News Reports (2022-2025) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index.