Dwindling press freedom to wealth inequality: Assessing 2023 through seven indices | India News

NEW DELHI: As 2023 draws to an end, a number of global indices provide insight into the state of the world and highlight serious issues on several fronts. These reports give a thorough picture of where the world community is at, covering everything from dwindling press freedom to ongoing poverty and the pressing climate issue.
Press Freedom Index
According to Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2023 World Press Freedom Index, global trends are alarming.The state of journalism is classified as “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, and “problematic” in 55.
Top three rankings for press freedom were held by Norway, Ireland, and Denmark; lowest three rankings were held by North Korea, China, and Vietnam.
India’s position dropped to 161 out of 180, indicating a deterioration in media freedom. The paper highlights how the fake content industry in the digital ecosystem affects press freedom, with political players engaging in misinformation or propaganda efforts across 118 nations.
Freedom House Democracy Index
According to Freedom House’s annual report, freedom and democracy have declined globally for the 17th year in a row. “The most serious setbacks for freedom and democracy were the result of war, coups, and attacks on democratic institutions by illiberal incumbents,” said the report.
India has been classified as “partly free” for the past three years and received the same score of 66 out of 100 as in 2022. The report highlights that democracy in the nation is “losing ground.”
The study, which Freedom House has released yearly since 1973, evaluates 210 nations and territories in total.
Global Hunger Index
Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe collaborate to release the index each October. Undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality are the four component indicators used by the Hunger Index to assess nations’ performance.

India’s GHI score is 28.7, compared to the 18.3 (considered moderate) global average. The percentage of undernourished persons worldwide has risen to 9.2%. The COVID-19 pandemic’s economic affects, conflicts, and climate change are all blamed for the stagnation in the fight against hunger.
India’s GHI score has improved by just 0.5 percentage points since 2015. According to the research, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the greatest rates of hunger.
Global Multidimensional Poverty Index
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) released the global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023. The index analyzes “interlinked deprivations in health, education, and standard of living that directly affect a person’s life and wellbeing”.
The report gathers information from 110 developing nations, which together account for 6.1 billion people and 92% of the world’s population. In order to inform and accelerate efforts to eradicate poverty in all its forms, it tells us a vital and enduring tale about how pervasive poverty is in all parts of the world and offers insights into the lives of the poor, their deprivations, and how severe their poverty is.
A large percentage of the world’s impoverished have inadequate access to cooking fuel, housing, and sanitation, according to the research. India still faces difficulties, with over 230 million people living in poverty. Additionally, 18.7% of Indians are categorized as vulnerable, meaning that they experience deprivation in 20–33.3% of all weighted factors.
Oxfam International Report: ‘Survival of the Richest’
In its report titled “Survival of the Richest,” Oxfam highlights the staggering global wealth inequality. Almost two-thirds of all newly created wealth since 2020, worth $42 trillion, is held by the richest 1 per cent. This figure is nearly double the combined wealth of the bottom 99 percent of the global population.
In India, the wealthiest 1 per cent control more than 40 percent of the nation’s total assets, while the poorest half only stakes claim to 3 percent.
The research highlights the growing wealth disparity as billionaires continue to amass riches despite challenges to the world economy. The results highlight how urgently economic inequality has to be addressed globally.
“While ordinary people are making daily sacrifices on essentials like food, the super-rich have outdone even their wildest dreams. Just two years in, this decade is shaping up to be the best yet for billionaires —a roaring ‘20s boom for the world’s richest,” said Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International.
Climate Change Performance Index
Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute, and the Climate Action Network released the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) for 2024, which shows a worrying trend. To rank countries, the CCPI looks at four main factors: energy use (20%), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (40%), renewable energy (20%), and climate policy (20%).
Not a single nation met the required standards in every index category to receive an exceptionally high overall grade. Thus, the top three overall spots stay unoccupied.
Fourth place went to Denmark, fifth place went to Estonia, and sixth place went to the Philippines among the top six.
India moved up from eighth place in the CCPI 2023 to seventh place in the CCPI 2024.
The report highlights the increase in global greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 and emphasizes the need to decarbonize. Out of the G20 countries, only three—India included—performed well, and the majority of developed countries made little headway in addressing climate change.
A World becoming less free, less democratic, more unequal
The world seems to be getting more unstable and difficult. The deterioration of press freedom points to a worrying trend in which propaganda and disinformation flourish and threaten the fundamental foundations of democratic countries. Concurrently, the Freedom House Democracy Index indicates that democratic ideals are continuing to deteriorate and that attacks on democratic institutions, wars, and coups have been becoming more frequent. Poverty still exists, and the climate catastrophe necessitates immediate action.
The values of freedom, democracy, and equality are in jeopardy, and our world is at a crossroads. It is crucial to understand how these problems are related to one another as we consider the difficulties brought to light by these reports. A world that is less free and less democratic is also a world that grapples with inequality and struggles to address pressing global challenges.
Whether the international community can generate the collective will and action required to address these urgent issues and clear the path for a more equitable and sustainable future is the question that looms large.