From watching too much Nordic noir, I’ve learned key Scandinavian safety lessons: stay away from deep forests, avoid all “rustic villagers”, run away from every solstice or equinox ritual, and run screaming from any creature (human or otherwise) wearing horns in the wrong anatomical place.
But assuming you can get past the pagan magic and “old gods,” the Nordic countries perform well on many other measures of human development. For example, in the most recent World Happiness Report, Finland tops the list while Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway all feature in the top six. (Costa Rica is the non-Nordic exception here, coming in fourth.)
These countries also top the global average life expectancy.
They also have the most press freedom on the planet.
Reporters Without Borders (or RSF, to use the initials for its French name, Reporters Sans Frontiers) today released the 2026 edition of its prestigious World Press Freedom Index, and Norway continues its decade-long run up the leaderboard. Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia also feature in the top 10. Looking at the report’s global map, the Nordic region stands out as the freest place on earth for journalists; This is the only area of the map marked in green.
RSF Global Press Freedom Map, 2026.
Credit: RSF
RSF Global Press Freedom Map, 2026.
Credit: RSF
Unfortunately, overall press freedom has declined. According to RSF, for the first time in its history, “more than half of the world’s countries now fall into the ‘difficult’ or ‘very serious’ categories for press freedom. In 25 years, the average score across all 180 countries and territories surveyed in the index has never been so low.”
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