Lithuania slipped to number 14 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, down from 13th place last year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report on Friday.
RSF described the state of media freedom in Lithuania as “satisfactory”.
“Despite flaws in the legal system, financial issues and tensions with the government, journalists work in a relatively favourable environment,” it said.
Lithuania’s neighbour Latvia was also rated as having satisfactory freedom, ranking just below Lithuania in 15th place. Last year, Latvia held 12th place, one position higher than Lithuania.
Meanwhile, Estonia climbed to second place globally this year, up from sixth place last year.
RSF noted that relations between the government and the media in Lithuania “have been marked by tensions”, but “political attacks against journalists are rare”.
“However, media outlets are often faced with refusals to provide state-held information without explanation,” it said.
The report also mentioned the Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) Council, the governing body of the public broadcaster, which it said “has not been successful in protecting the public media from political pressures”.
Other media regulatory and monitoring bodies are “relatively free from political influence”, according to the report.
RSF said that Lithuania’s legal framework “lacks clarity and does not always ensure the protection of journalists’ rights”, adding that “courts sometimes prioritise the protection of personal data over freedom of the press”.
“Ethical issues are subject to self-regulation, under the supervision of an association mandated by the courts, something that some call into question,” it said.
On the economic front, the report said that “local journalism has been crippled by a systematic lack of funding”. It noted that the funding model for local media has recently been revamped with the creation of the Media Support Fund.
RSF also said that journalists in Lithuania “enjoy society’s respect”, with the exception of “certain conspiracy theory groups”.
“Although there are no systematic attempts to censor quality journalism, journalists struggle with self-censorship when reporting on certain historical or gender issues,” it said.
The report stated that journalists in Lithuania “usually face no threats to their physical security”, with the highest level of physical insecurity recorded in 2021 when reporters faced verbal attacks during protests against Covid-19 restrictions.
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