These 19 countries are where journalists have the most freedom

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published its annual World Press Freedom Index on Wednesday - a comprehensive breakdown of how healthy press freedom is in 180 countries.

This year's rankings indicate a "climate of fear and tension," according to a RSF press release sent to Business Insider, and reflect how more and more newsrooms worldwide are being seized by governments and their freedom diminished through private-sector interests.

The index ranks the countries based on the freedom they allow for journalists and gives countries scores ranging from 0 to 100, with 0 being the best possible score and 100 the worst.

With a rating of 50.8, the issue of media freedom violation is most serious in North Africa and the Middle East.

Europe on the other hand, is classed as having the freest press, with a much lower rating of 19.8. China, North Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia are all among the 20 worst states for press freedom, while the United Kingdom is ranked 38th.

The Americas (37.1), where violence against journalists is on the rise, was overtaken by Africa (36.9) for the first time. The full index can be found here.

Take a look at the 19 countries where freedom of the press is at its healthiest.