Article 19: Bangladesh marked as ‘crisis’ country in Global Expression Report

Article 19 has placed Bangladesh in the "crisis" category, the worst possible ranking, in its latest global ranking for freedom of expression.

With a dismal score of just 12 points, Bangladesh has positioned at 128th out of 161 countries evaluated in the Global Expression Report 2024.

In the report, the global rights organisation rated countries on a 100-point scale and classified them into five categories – crisis (0-19), highly restricted (20-39), restricted (40-59), less restricted (60-79), and open (80-100).

Bangladesh's expression situation is notably dire not only in the global perspective, but also in South Asia.

Neighbouring India has been placed at 123rd position with 19 points and categorised as “crisis." Pakistan is at the 108th position with 33 points under the "highly restricted" category.

With 57 points, Nepal ranked 77th and is classified as "restricted," while the Maldives is at the 89th position with 51 points. Apart from them, Sri Lanka secured the 94th spot with 44 points and Bhutan 103rd spot with 37 points.

The top-performing countries in the report are – Denmark with 95 points, Switzerland and Sweden each with 93 points, and Belgium and Estonia with 92 points.

The United States ranked 26th with 85 points, placing it in the "open" category.