FH: Press Freedom Declines in Georgia

The Freedom of the Press 2017 Report, Freedom House.

Georgia’s ranking in an annual survey of global press freedom by Freedom House has worsened for the third consecutive year, but the country still remains in the “Partly Free” category.

The Freedom of the Press 2017 survey released on April 28, which covers the developments in 2016 and assesses press freedom in 199 countries and territories, ranks Georgia 102nd with the score of 50. 

Georgia’s ranking in similar surveys covering 2015 and 2014, was 96th (49 points) and 93rd (48 points), respectively.

The survey provides a numerical rating from 0 (the most free) to 100 (the least free) for each country, and categorizes their level of press freedom as “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free.” Countries scoring from 0 to 30 are given status of having “Free” media; from 31 to 60 – “Partly Free” and 61 to 100 – “Not Free.”

Three of the 12 former non-Baltic former Soviet states – Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – are ranked as “Partly Free,” others have been assigned to “Not Free” category.

Of all countries and territories assessed for 2016, a total of 61 (31%) were rated Free, 72 (36%) were rated Partly Free, and 66 (33%) were rated Not Free.

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