In the most recent world press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders, for the third year in a row Norway is ranked number one, and Iran has dropped a few steps compared to last year and currently sits at 170.

Arbitrary arrests and heavy court sentences for journalists and citizen journalists is one of the reasons for this drop.

Cuba is sitting at 169, one step above Iran in this list, and Finland, Sweden, Netherlands, and Denmark are ranked two to five.

According to Reporters Without Borders, two thirds of political prisoners in Iran are citizen journalists who actively try to spread free information online.

According to the report, between 1979 and 2009, at least 860 journalists and citizen journalists have been persecuted, arrested, imprisoned, or executed.

One of the positives in the report is the significant improvement of three African countries in journalism. Ascending 40 levels, Ethiopia is now ranked 110, Gambia with 30 level ascend is at 92, and Tunisia with 25 level improvement is now at 72.

The ranking considers measures such as pluralism, press independence, censorship, laws, and transparency of oversight institutions in every country.