As World Press Freedom Day on May 3 approaches, press freedom holds steady and strong across the globe – or at least the perception of it does: Nearly two-thirds, or 64%, of adults last year believed the press in their country has “a lot of freedom,” according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.
Gallup examined 131 countries and territories, surveying 1,000 people in each on their perception of media freedom in their respective countries in late 2025. Of those surveyed, respondents in European countries most frequently said that their media has a lot of freedom, accounting for all nations in the top 10 for perceived media freedom. Sub-Saharan Africa ranked lowest, making up the majority of the bottom 10.
Overall, the global needle hasn’t moved significantly from its starting (and highest) point of 67% since Gallup began measuring perceived press freedom in 2010. However, individual countries have shifted: 16 have seen the percentages of adults with a positive perception of media freedom grow by double digits. Meanwhile, 33 countries have seen double-digit decreases – the United States among them.
Three-quarters of Americans still saw their country as a home of press freedom. Though the nation’s score exceeds the global median, it also ties 2023 for its lowest mark since polling began – and represents an 11 percentage-point drop since 2022. Still, some countries fared worse.
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Over the last decade and a half, media freedom perceptions in Hungary have plummeted the most of any nation – by 42 percentage points – coinciding with the rule of now-outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Views of press freedom in Hong Kong and Greece have also tumbled, decreasing by 34 and 30 percentage points since 2010, respectively.
However, the poll noted that perception isn’t always reality. In the case of press freedom, the relationship between the two is tenuous.
Referencing the press freedom index from Reporters Without Borders, which weighs expert input and measures such as journalists imprisoned or killed, the Gallup poll noted that “public opinion often contrasts with external measures of freedom.” It concluded that
In large parts of the world, the erosion of press freedom is “happening below the threshold of public awareness.”