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Indonesia slides in global press freedom index
Indonesia is in a “difficult situation” in terms of press freedom due to increased intimidation by police and military personnel, as well as increasing financial instability that often leads to layoffs and salary cuts amid few economic protections for journalists.
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Journalists hold banners during a protest to commemorate World Press Freedom Day in Surabaya, East Java, on May 2, 2025. The protest, organized by the Surabaya chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI Surabaya) and other civic groups, condemned intimidation and violence against journalists. (Antara/Didik Suhartono)
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edia rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked Indonesia at 127 in its 2025 edition of the Press Freedom Index, down 16 spots from the 2024 index, as the group highlights a decline in journalists’ safety and deteriorating economic conditions.
On a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst possible condition for press freedom and 100 stands for the best condition, Indonesia sits in the bottom two-fifths of the index with a 44.13 score, indicating a “difficult situation” for press freedom. The figure was also lower than the global average.
The country recorded a major drop in the security indicator, with the group putting Indonesia in 125th place in this aspect, dropping 38 positions from the previous year.
On security, Indonesian journalists reporting corruption cases and public protests often faced multiple forms of intimidation by the police and military personnel, according to the group. The RSF believed that this could result in a high level of self-censorship.
Another indicator that performed badly in the 2025 index was economic fragility, with Indonesia ranking 142nd.
The group noted that the financial instability faced by local media companies had led to layoffs and salary cuts amid insufficient economic protection for media workers.
One recent example was the recent termination of national television channel Kompas TV’s program Kompas Sport Pagi (Kompas Morning Sport), which was announced by its anchor on May 1.
