Freedom House, a United States- based non-governmental organisation that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, has ranked Sri Lanka 161 out of 197 countries in terms of Press freedom in its report for 2012.

Sri Lanka was tied with Burundi with a rating of 72 with a “not free” status.

Freedom House placed the U.S. at 22, tied with Estonia and Jamaica with an 18 point score. (0 is the best on the scale.)

The top spot is occupied by Finland, Norway and Sweden with ratings of 10.