The National Press Freedom index in 2022 saw a 1.86 point growth to 77.88, based on a survey by the Indonesian Press Council and state-owned surveyor firm PT Sucofindo. Press Council Chairman Azyumardi Azra said, despite the improvement, the public should not get complacent and continue to fight for press freedom.
Azra said the council would continue to guarantee press freedom. Therefore, the result of the survey was not the end for the sustainability of the press in Indonesia. “Don’t think of press freedom as something that has been completed. We have a lot of challenges,” he said on August 25, 2022.
Over the last five years, Indonesia’s press freedom index has shown improvement with a score of 67.92 in 2017, 69 in 2018, 73.71 in 2019 and 75.27 in 2020. Press Council’s Commission for Research, Data Collection and Press Ratification Chairwoman Ninik Rahayu said West Papua province ranked last, with a score of 69.23 points.