Kazakhstan Moves Up One Spot in Press Freedom Ranking

The international NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released its latest press freedom ranking, with Kazakhstan placing 141st out of 180 countries, a one-spot improvement from 2024, Orda.kz reports.

Despite this slight improvement, Kazakhstan remains on the list of countries where the state of press freedom and journalists’ rights is considered “very serious.” This classification applies to all Central Asian nations, as well as to neighboring countries such as China and Russia.

In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan (144th) and Kazakhstan (141st) have darkened the region,the RSF report noted. 

The organization noted that the 2024 media law reform in Kazakhstan granted authorities greater oversight over the media, enabling the Foreign Ministry to arbitrarily deny accreditation to media outlets or journalists within the context of national security. 

As of May 2025, human rights activists report that two journalists in Kazakhstan remain wrongfully detained or convicted.

While Kazakhstan’s overall ranking saw a minor uptick, the country’s performance declined sharply in two of the ranking’s five key indicators: the legislative framework dropped four places to 152nd, and social perception of the media fell eight spots to 131st.

In 2024, Kazakhstan experienced a sharp decline in the press freedom ranking, plummeting from 134th to 142nd place, mainly due to the criminal prosecution of a journalist (presumably the author of the Telegram channel “Dikaya Orda,” Daniyar Adilbekov) and the killing of opposition figure Aidos Sadykov in Kyiv.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny