Bangladesh has slipped one notch in this year's World Press Freedom Index, prepared by Reporters Without Borders, also known as Reporters sans frontières (RSF).
Bangladesh ranked 163rd out of 180 countries. The country was in 162nd position last year, according to the report released on Wednesday.
The country in this year's index acquired a score of 35.31, compared to a slightly higher 36.63 last year.
Meanwhile, India dropped 11 notches, to 161st from 150th.
In comparison, Pakistan fared better when it comes to media freedom as it was placed at 150, an improvement from last year's 157.
Norway topped the index for the seventh year in a row while North Korea placed at the bottom.
Meanwhile, Myanmar ranked 173rd and Nepal 95th.
Sri Lanka also made significant improvements, ranking 135 this year against 146 in 2022.
According to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index -- which evaluates the environment for journalism in 180 countries and territories and is published on World Press Freedom Day [May 3] -- the situation is "very serious" in 31 countries, "difficult" in 42, "problematic" in 55, and "good" or "satisfactory" in 52 countries.
In other words, the environment for journalism is "bad" in seven out of ten countries, and satisfactory in only three out of ten.
