Nepal

Nepal ranks 90th out of 180 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), scoring 55.20—classified as “problematic,” down 16 places from 2024.

In 2025, violence escalated amid political unrest: two journalists killed (one in a March protest arson, another suspiciously), per FNJ and IFJ. During September’s massive anti-corruption protests, police rubber bullets injured at least four journalists, and mobs torched over a dozen media offices, including Kantipur and Annapurna Post.

FNJ documented 139 press freedom violations—nearly triple 2024’s—covering assaults, threats, vandalism, and arson affecting 218 journalists and 31 outlets. Impunity remains widespread, worsened by Electronic Transactions Act arrests, self-censorship, and polarization. These attacks contributed to the fall of the government but severely threaten independent journalism in Nepal’s fragile democracy.