Singapore falls three places in press freedom ranking
In terms of press freedom, Singapore ranks 153 out of 180 countries in the world, just below Russia, according to Paris-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
In the group's 2015 World Press Freedom Index released on Thursday, the city-state is three notches down last year's 150th place, the worst showing since the index began in 2002.
Reporters Without Borders did not specifically explain why Singapore dropped in the ranking, but last year it cited Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's defamation case against blogger Roy Ngerng.
In a statement after the defamation suit was launched, Reporters Without Borders said it “considers Ngerng to be the latest victim of a particular legal device known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). It is designed in the first place to deny the blogger the ability to publish or the chance to defend himself".
Lee has since won the case and Ngerng made the full payment of S$29,000 for total cost of court proceedings last week.
Regarding the 2015 press freedom index, Reporters Without Borders said the results reflect a "drastic decline" in media freedom in the world last year.
Over half of the 180 countries that the index surveyed had a drop in performance compared to the previous years.
The countries that top the list are Finland, Norway and Denmark. Finland has been first in the index for five years in a row.
In contrast, the last three places were taken by Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.
United States stands at the 49th place, down by three places in 2014; Japan is at 61, down by two places; while Malaysia is ranked 147th.
Hong Kong, after their recent Occupy Central protests, dropped nine places to the 70th position.
Here is the ranking, from best to worst:
1. Finland
2. Norway
3. Denmark
4. Netherlands
5. Sweden
6. New Zealand
7. Austria
8. Canada
9. Jamaica
10. Estonia
11. Ireland
12. Germany
13. Czech Republic
14. Slovakia
15. Belgium
16. Costa Rica
17. Namibia
18. Poland
19. Luxembourg
20. Switzerland
21. Iceland
22. Ghana
23. Uruguay
24. Cyprus
25. Australia
26. Portugal
27. Liechtenstein
28. Latvia
29. Suriname
30. Belize
31. Lithuania
32. Andorra
33. Spain
34. United Kingdom
35. Slovenia
36. Cape Verde
37. Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
38. France
39. South Africa
40. Samoa
41. Trinidad and Tobago
42. Botswana
43. Chile
44. Tonga
45. El Salvador
46. Burkina Faso
47. Niger
48. Malta
49. United States
50. Comoros
51. Taiwan
52. Romania
53. Haiti
54. Mongolia
55. Mauritania
56. Papua New Guinea
57. Argentina
58. Croatia
59. Malawi
60. South Korea
61. Japan
62. Guyana
63. Dominican Republic
64. Madagascar
65. Hungary
66. Bosnia and Herzegovina
67. Serbia
68. Mauritius
69. Georgia
70. Hong Kong
71. Senegal
72. Moldova
73. Italy
74. Nicaragua
75. Tanzania
76. Northern Cyprus
77. Lesotho
78. Armenia
79. Sierra Leone
80. Togo
81. Guinea-Bissau
82. Albania
83. Panama
84. Benin
85. Mozambique
86. Ivory Coast
87. Kosovo
88. Kyrgyzstan
89. Liberia
90. Kuwait
91. Greece
92. Peru
93. Fiji
94. Bolivia
95. Gabon
96. Seychelles
97. Uganda
98. Lebanon
99. Brazil
100. Kenya
101. Israel
102. Guinea
103. East Timor
104. Bhutan
105. Nepal
106. Bulgaria
107. Republic of the Congo
108. Ecuador
109. Paraguay
110. Central African Republic
111. Nigeria
112. Maldives
113. Zambia
114. Montenegro
115. Qatar
116. Tajikistan
117. Macedonia
118. Mali
119. Algeria
120. United Arab Emirates
121. Brunei
122. Afghanistan
123. Angola
124. Guatemala
125. South Sudan
126. Tunisia
127. Oman
128. Colombia
129. Ukraine
130. Morocco
131. Zimbabwe
132. Honduras
133. Cameroon
134. Thailand
135. Chad
136. India
137. Venezuela
138. Indonesia
139. Cambodia
140. Palestinian Territories
141. Philippines
142. Ethiopia
143. Jordan
144. Myanmar
145. Burundi
146. Bangladesh
147. Malaysia
148. Mexico
149. Turkey
150. Democratic Republic of Congo
151. Gambia
152. Russia
153. Singapore
154. Libya
155. Swaziland
156. Iraq
157. Belarus
158. Egypt
159. Pakistan
160. Kazakhstan
161. Rwanda
162. Azerbaijan
163. Bahrain
164. Saudi Arabia
165. Sri Lanka
166. Uzbekistan
167. Equatorial Guinea
168. Yemen
169. Cuba
170. Djibouti
171. Laos
172. Somalia
173. Iran
174. Sudan
175. Vietnam
176. China
177. Syria
178. Turkmenistan
179. North Korea
180. Eritrea
(Source: Reporters Without Borders 2015 World Press Freedom Index; country/territory names have been altered in some cases in line with AFP style)