India has ranked behind its neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan, who are at positions 150 and 152, respectively, this year.
Countries which have ranked lower than India include Bangladesh (163), Saudi Arabia (170) and Iran (177). China at 179 and North Korea at 180 occupy the last spots in the index.
The ranking is based on a country’s performance in five broad categories: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety of journalists.
India's position among the five indicators was highest in the sociocultural context (143) and lowest in the safety of journalists (172).