Press freedom will decline in South Asia

Significance

Bangladesh is ranked lower than any other South Asian country, even Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Bhutan, judged to have the freest media in the region, and Nepal are the only South Asian states with improved rankings.

Impacts

• Media freedom may improve in Sri Lanka as the country undergoes political changes aimed at supporting recovery from economic crisis.
• Bhutan should continue to improve its WPFI score.
• Several South Asian governments will try to censor ‘fake news’ and mandate data localisation.