Malta's press freedom deteriorated last year, according to the annual index published by the American non-governmental organisation Freedom House.

In 2008, Malta ranked 38 worldwide when a year before it placed 32nd.

When compared to other Western European countries, Malta placed 19th alongside France and Cyprus and ahead of Spain, Greece, Italy and Turkey. The latter two were classified "partially free", with Italy seeing its ranking slip drastically.

Iceland came first for press freedom worldwide, followed closely by its Nordic neighbours, Finland and Norway. The worst place for journalists to operate in is North Korea, which ranked bottom of the list.

From 195 countries, 70 were classified "free", 61 "partly free" and 64 "not free".

Freedom House measures press freedom according to an index that takes into consideration the legal, political and economic environment of a country. Each country is given a rating that ranges from zero (best) to 100 (worst).

Countries with a rating ranging between zero and 30 are considered to be "free", those achieving a rating between 31 and 60 are classified as "partly free" while countries with a rating above 60 are deemed to be "not free".

In 2007, Malta achieved a rating of 20. This deteriorated slightly in 2008 when it achieved a rating of 22.

Freedom House was founded in 1941 by prominent Americans concerned with the mounting threats to peace and democracy. It remains until today a watchdog and advocate for press freedom world-wide.

World Press Freedom Day was celebrated last Sunday.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com