The World Press Freedom Index is to compare the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories. Press freedom is defined as “the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.”

The Index’s rankings are based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 that is assigned to each country or territory, with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst.

This score is calculated on the basis of two components:

a quantitative tally of abuses against journalists in connection with their work, and against media outlets;
a qualitative analysis of the situation in each country or territory based on the responses of press freedom specialists (including journalists, researchers, academics and human rights defenders) to an RSF questionnaire available in 23 languages.

The following table shows how Middle East countries rank.

Israel	101
Qatar	84
Tunisia	118
Morocco	129
Kuwait	131
Jordan	132
Oman	137
Algeria	139
Lebanon	140
Libya	143
Yemen	154
Palestinian Territories	157
United Arab Emirates	160
Saudi Arabia	166
Iraq	169
Egypt	170
Bahrain	173
Iran	176
Syria	179

Source: Reporters Without Borders.

Human Rights:Press Freedom in the Middle East

Human Rights:
Press Freedom in the Middle East