Out of the eleven countries in Southeast Asia, only one has made it into the global top 50 for press freedom, and it is not the name most people would expect when talking about progress in the region.
Timor-Leste, the youngest country in Southeast Asia and a recent member of ASEAN, ranks 30th globally in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
With a score of 75.29 points, up 3.5 points from the previous year, Timor-Leste not only outperforms all other ASEAN member states, but also records a jump of nine positions in a single year.
That score places its media environment in the “satisfactory” category, meaning relatively free, a rare status in the Asia-Pacific region where 21 out of 32 countries fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories.
ASEAN Press Freedom Index: A Region Far From Equal
| ASEAN Rank | Country | World Rank 2026 | World Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timor-Leste | 30 | 39 |
| 2 | Thailand | 92 | 85 |
| 3 | Malaysia | 95 | 88 |
| 4 | Brunei | 96 | 97 |
| 5 | Philippines | 114 | 116 |
| 6 | Singapore | 123 | 123 |
| 7 | Indonesia | 129 | 127 |
| 8 | Cambodia | 151 | 161 |
| 9 | Laos | 154 | 150 |
| 10 | Myanmar | 166 | 169 |
| 11 | Vietnam | 174 | 173 |
Below Timor-Leste, the gap to the next country is considerable.
Thailand ranks 92nd globally, making it the highest among the long-standing ASEAN members, despite falling seven places from 2025. RSF notes that the threat of lèse-majesté laws, particularly Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code, remains a persistent pressure on media in the country.
Malaysia stands at 95th, down from 88th the previous year. Nearly all of its indicators declined.
The economic score dropped from 48.67 to 40.28, the legal indicator from 46.26 to 43.71, and the sociocultural indicator from 62.72 to 51.25. The only improvement came in the security indicator, which rose from 78.16 to 85.42.
Brunei follows at 96th, the Philippines at 114th, and Singapore at 123rd. Indonesia ranks 129th, slipping two places from 2025. RSF highlights that in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand, political and business elites often exploit legal systems that are seen as insufficiently protective of press freedom.
In the Philippines, terrorism-related charges are cited by RSF as a pretext to silence independent journalists. One example is Frenchie Mae Cumpio, a journalist who was convicted despite RSF investigations indicating that the charges lacked credible evidence.
At the bottom of the ASEAN ranking are Cambodia at 151st, Laos at 154th, and Myanmar at 166th. Vietnam closes the list at 174th out of 180 countries, making it the lowest-ranked country in Southeast Asia for press freedom.
Vietnam’s score of 21.15 points trails far behind Myanmar at 26.38, Laos at 32.54, and Cambodia at 33.28.
Global Trend: The Worst Scores in 25 Years
The situation in Southeast Asia reflects a broader global pattern. For the first time in the 25-year history of the World Press Freedom Index, more than half of all countries fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories, while only 1 percent are classified as “good.”
The average global score has reached its lowest point since the index was first introduced.
Among the five indicators used by RSF, economic, legal, security, political, and social, the legal indicator recorded the sharpest decline this year. This signals that journalism is increasingly being criminalized worldwide, not only in authoritarian states but also in democracies.
At the top of the global ranking in 2026, Norway, the Netherlands, Estonia, Denmark, and Sweden occupy the top five positions. No Asia-Pacific country makes it into the top 20, with New Zealand ranked 22nd as the closest from the region, despite dropping six places.
