Free expression in decline globally: Report

KABUL (Pajhwok): As many as 4.2 billion people across 53 countries experienced a deterioration of their freedom of expression over the last five years, says an international organisation.

In a report, the Global Expression said only 681 million people across 18 countries saw improvement in freedom of expression.

It said freedom of expression dropped 47 points in Afghanistan, 43 points in El Salvador, and 42 points in Hong Kong (China).

The largest advance in expression (+32 points) took place in Zambia, according to the report, which said over the last decade, 6.2 billion people across 78 countries experienced a deterioration of their freedom of expression.

Only 303 million people across 18 countries saw improvement. Similar to the 5-year timeframe, the largest declines over the last 10 years took place in Hong Kong (-54 points), Afghanistan (-48 points), and El Salvador (-46 points).

Gambia had by far the largest advance over the timeframe (+63 points) but is a clear outlier; the next-largest increase during the period experienced only a 28-point gain (Fiji).

sa/mud