Costa Rica: a free press

Costa Rica is the only Latin American country with a high rating for liberty of journalism, according to the Press Freedom Index 2014, published this month by Reporters Without Borders.

In the Americas, only Costa Rica and Canada are considered to have "good" standards.

Most South American countries have "significant problems”.

Costa Rica is ranked 21st in the world, while El Salvador is second in the region in position 38.

In 129th place, Honduras got Central America’s worst rating.

Finland is the world's safest place for journalism, and Eritrea is the most dangerous, of a total of 180 countries.

The study takes into account six priority areas: diversity of media opinion, independence, self-censorship environment, legislative framework, transparency, and infrastructure that supports the production of news (figures reflect the position in the global ranking of each Central American country).


1. Costa Rica (21)
2. El Salvador (38)
3. Nicaragua (71)
4. Panama (87)
5. Guatemala (125)
6. Honduras (129)