Indonesia's Press Freedom Level Declined in 2025; Its Position in ASEAN

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Indonesia's press freedom score in the *World Press Freedom Index 2025* reached 44.13 out of 100 points.

This score falls into the "difficult" category and places Indonesia 127th globally. The 2025 achievement shows a significant decrease from 2024.

Last year, Indonesia scored 51.15 points, ranking 111th globally.

RSF explains that Indonesia continues to struggle with press freedom, despite undergoing a major transition during the 1998 reforms.

"Since the democratic transition that began in 1998, hundreds of independent media outlets have emerged, making Indonesia a pioneer in this field in Southeast Asia," wrote RSF, as quoted on Wednesday (7/5/2025).

In the ASEAN group, Indonesia is ranked seventh, just below Singapore, which scored 45.78 points.

First place was occupied by Timor-Leste with a score of 71.79 points—the only country in Southeast Asia labeled "satisfactory." This score also places Timor-Leste 39th globally.

Thailand is second with 56.72 points, and Malaysia is third with 56.09 points.

The country with the lowest score in the region is Vietnam, with only 19.74 points.

"Traditional Vietnamese media is tightly controlled by a single party. Independent journalists and bloggers are often imprisoned, making Vietnam one of the world's largest prisons for journalists," wrote RSF.

Overall, the global index score is only 54.7 points. For the first time, this global score has entered the "difficult" category due to many declines in several indicators, especially economic ones.

According to the report, 160 out of 180 surveyed countries experienced economic pressure, or lacked budgets altogether, forcing many media outlets to close.

Each country or territory is evaluated using five indicators reflecting the press freedom situation: political context, legal framework, economic context, socio-cultural context, and security. The scoring scale is as follows:

* 85–100 points: good
* 70–85 points: satisfactory
* 55–70 points: problematic
* 40–55 points: difficult
* 0–40 points: very serious.

The assessment of press freedom in 11 Southeast Asian countries is detailed below:

1. Timor-Leste: 71.79 points
2. Thailand: 56.72 points
3. Malaysia: 56.09 points
4. Brunei Darussalam: 53.47 points
5. Philippines: 49.57 points
6. Singapore: 45.78 points
7. Indonesia: 44.12 points
8. Laos: 33.22 points
9. Cambodia: 28.18 points
10. Myanmar: 25.32 points
11. Vietnam: 19.74 points.

(Also read: Norway Achieves Highest World Press Freedom Index Score in 2025)