Global press freedom declined last year to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to a report issued Wednesday by an international human rights monitoring organization.
Freedom House's annual survey said journalists across the world face restrictions placed on them by forces including authoritarian governments, terrorists and media owners with business interests.
The worst offenders on the organization's ranking of 199 nations or territories were North Korea, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Cuba, Syria, Iran and Crimea. Norway, Sweden and Belgium topped the list.
Overall, Freedom House says just 14 percent of the world's population lives in free countries "where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures."