Press freedom in France
France: Press freedom was 2 in 2016. ▲ Rising
Press freedom in France, 1979–2016
Source: Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
France recorded 2 for press freedom in 2016. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, press freedom in France peaked at 2 in 1988 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1979.
That places France 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1980s | 1.12 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Countries ranked near France
- 1 Andorra 2 compare
- 1 Australia 2 compare
- 1 Austria 2 compare
- 1 Bahamas 2 compare
- 1 Barbados 2 compare
- 1 Belgium 2 compare
- 1 Belize 2 compare
- 1 Canada 2 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
- 1 Chile 2 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
- 1 Cyprus 2 compare
- 1 Czechia 2 compare
- 1 Denmark 2 compare
- 1 Dominica 2 compare
- 1 Estonia 2 compare
- 1 Finland 2 compare
- 1 Germany 2 compare
- 1 Grenada 2 compare
- 1 Iceland 2 compare
- 1 Ireland 2 compare
- 1 Jamaica 2 compare
- 1 Japan 2 compare
- 1 Kiribati 2 compare
- 1 Latvia 2 compare
- 1 Liechtenstein 2 compare
- 1 Lithuania 2 compare
- 1 Luxembourg 2 compare
- 1 Malta 2 compare
- 1 Marshall Islands 2 compare
- 1 Mauritius 2 compare
- 1 Monaco 2 compare
- 1 Netherlands 2 compare
- 1 New Zealand 2 compare
- 1 Norway 2 compare
- 1 Palau 2 compare
- 1 Papua New Guinea 2 compare
- 1 Portugal 2 compare
- 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 compare
- 1 Saint Lucia 2 compare
- 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 compare
- 1 Samoa 2 compare
- 1 San Marino 2 compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
- 1 Slovakia 2 compare
- 1 Slovenia 2 compare
- 1 Solomon Islands 2 compare
- 1 Spain 2 compare
- 1 Suriname 2 compare
- 1 Sweden 2 compare
- 1 Switzerland 2 compare
- 1 Taiwan 2 compare
- 1 Tonga 2 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
- 1 Tuvalu 2 compare
- 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
- 1 United States 2 compare
- 1 Uruguay 2 compare
- 1 Vanuatu 2 compare
More social development data for France
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 788,419 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 166 (2025)
- Physical Integrity Rights Score 1.68 (2019)
- Asylum-seekers by country or territory of origin 455 (2025)
- Asylum-seekers by country or territory of asylum 85,227 (2025)
- Forcibly displaced people 873,646 (2025)
- Self-reported life satisfaction 6.59 (2025)
- Share of people agreeing with the statement "most people can be trusted" 26.3% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is press freedom in France?
- Press freedom in France was 2 in 2016, according to Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest press freedom recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1988.
- What is the lowest press freedom recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1979.
- How does France rank for press freedom?
- France ranks 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2016.
- Is press freedom rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Press freedom. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the classification and data by Freedom House. It captures the legal, political, and economic environment of the press.