Data for 1990

Government Censorship of the Media, 1990

1990, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Government Censorship of the Media, 1990 covers 168 countries. Belgium is highest, at 3.489; Syria is lowest, at -3.045. The middle country reads 0.080.

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Government Censorship of the Media · Data for 1990

HighestBelgium

3.489

LowestSyria

-3.045

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end. A higher value is the better result.

168countries
1measure
1990the year it describes
166distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 26, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY-SA 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Government Censorship of the Media, 1990, as published. V-Dem Institute ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 168 countries · select a heading to sort

Government Censorship of the Media, 1990: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
1	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	3.489
2	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	3.380
3	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	3.378
4	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	3.355
5	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	3.258
6	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	3.255
7	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	3.254
8	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	3.043
9	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	2.916
10	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	2.749
11	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	2.610
12	Costa RicaCRICentral America	2.601
13	United StatesUSANorthern America	2.574
14	CanadaCANNorthern America	2.573
15	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	2.487
16	ItalyITASouthern Europe	2.401
17	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	2.379
18	ChileCHLSouth America	2.313
19	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	2.311
20	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	2.299
21	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	2.296
22	JapanJPNEastern Asia	2.295
23	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	2.248
24	FranceFRAWestern Europe	2.241
25	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	2.136
26	PolandPOLEastern Europe	2.111
27	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	2.109
28	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	2.080
29	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	2.077
30	SpainESPSouthern Europe	2.052
31	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	2.032
32	ArgentinaARGSouth America	2.009
33	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	1.840
34	BeninBENWestern Africa	1.829
35	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	1.773
36	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	1.772
37	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	1.763
38	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	1.726
39	NicaraguaNICCentral America	1.719
40	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	1.695
41	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	1.656
42	PanamaPANCentral America	1.655
43	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	1.647
44	SurinameSURSouth America	1.558
45	ColombiaCOLSouth America	1.531
46	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	1.462
47	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	1.420
48	NigerNERWestern Africa	1.387
49	VenezuelaVENSouth America	1.375
50	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	1.365
51	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	1.333
52	BrazilBRASouth America	1.285
53	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	1.195
54	UruguayURYSouth America	1.117
55	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	1.111
56	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	1.065
57	BoliviaBOLSouth America	1.059
58	Hong KongHKGEastern Asia	1.038
59	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	1.017
60	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	1.001
61	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	0.889
62	HondurasHNDCentral America	0.850
63	EcuadorECUSouth America	0.713
64	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	0.668
65	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	0.588
66	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	0.584
67	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	0.526
68	IsraelISRWestern Asia	0.503
69	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	0.480
70	ParaguayPRYSouth America	0.469
71	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	0.459
72	BelarusBLREastern Europe	0.423
73	FijiFJIMelanesia	0.387
74	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	0.369
75	UkraineUKREastern Europe	0.311
76	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	0.273
77	MexicoMEXCentral America	0.257
78	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	0.241
79	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	0.231
80	HaitiHTICaribbean	0.212
81	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	0.209
82	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	0.152
83	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	0.102
84	TaiwanTWNEastern Asia	0.083
85	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	0.077
86	SenegalSENWestern Africa	0.071
87	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	0.064
88	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	0.028
89	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	0.004
90	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	-0.052
=91	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	-0.068
=91	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	-0.068
93	GuineaGINWestern Africa	-0.086
94	MaliMLIWestern Africa	-0.088
95	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	-0.149
96	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	-0.184
=97	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	-0.247
=97	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	-0.247
99	SeychellesSYCEastern Africa	-0.274
100	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	-0.276
101	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	-0.348
102	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	-0.366
103	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	-0.383
104	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	-0.462
105	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	-0.479
106	GuyanaGUYSouth America	-0.530
107	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	-0.541
108	PeruPERSouth America	-0.546
109	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	-0.587
110	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	-0.683
111	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	-0.689
112	JordanJORWestern Asia	-0.708
113	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	-0.841
114	GabonGABMiddle Africa	-0.853
115	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	-0.891
116	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	-0.918
117	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	-0.930
118	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	-0.932
119	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	-0.948
120	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	-0.973
121	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	-1.027
122	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	-1.068
123	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	-1.087
124	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	-1.117
125	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	-1.166
126	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	-1.202
127	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	-1.203
128	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	-1.231
129	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	-1.266
130	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	-1.270
131	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	-1.283
132	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	-1.337
133	KenyaKENEastern Africa	-1.379
134	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	-1.427
135	YemenYEMWestern Asia	-1.439
136	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	-1.449
137	QatarQATWestern Asia	-1.464
138	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	-1.529
139	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	-1.580
140	EritreaERIEastern Africa	-1.581
141	IranIRNSouthern Asia	-1.586
142	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	-1.592
143	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	-1.597
144	TogoTGOWestern Africa	-1.672
145	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	-1.674
146	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	-1.708
147	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	-1.715
148	IraqIRQWestern Asia	-1.788
149	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	-1.820
150	OmanOMNWestern Asia	-1.949
151	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	-2.003
152	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	-2.081
153	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	-2.093
154	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	-2.227
155	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	-2.254
156	CubaCUBCaribbean	-2.256
157	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	-2.326
158	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	-2.362
159	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	-2.403
160	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	-2.474
161	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	-2.489
162	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	-2.521
163	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	-2.560
164	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	-2.571
165	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	-2.730
166	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	-2.775
167	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	-2.799
168	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	-3.045

02In 1990

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Belgium3.489
2Germany3.380
3Sweden3.378
4Australia3.355
5Denmark3.258

Lowest

168Syria-3.045
167Albania-2.799
166North Korea-2.775
165Malawi-2.730
164Angola-2.571

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.080. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

03Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

The site’s method

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1990.
166 distinct values among 168
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share -0.068. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
V-Dem Institute publishes values only. The order here sorts the published values, and the page says so wherever it prints one.
Which end is better
A higher value is the better result.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 168 countries has every column.

04The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
168 rows · 4.6 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download media-censorship-1990-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
V-Dem Institute’s own file, on its own site.
V-Dem-CY-Core-v16_csv.zip

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. Share, adapt and use commercially with credit — and anything you publish that adapts it must carry the same licence.

Cite this edition

V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg (1990). Government Censorship of the Media, 1990 [data set], describing 1990. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/media-censorship/1990

0536 held

Other years

‹ The year before
This is the first year held here.
The year after ›
Government Censorship of the Media, 1991
171 countries
All of them
Government Censorship of the Media: every year
36 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

06Questions