China, Israel, and Myanmar lead the world’s top jailers of journalists

Journalists in prisons. CPJ

January 17, 2025 - The number of journalists jailed worldwide reached a near all-time high in 2024, as governments continue an intense crackdown, according to a new report released today by the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

China (50), Israel (43), and Myanmar (35) emerged as the world’s three worst offenders in another record-setting year for journalists, followed by Belarus (31) and Russia (30).

A total of 361 journalists were behind bars on December 1, 2024, the second-highest number since the global record set in 2022, when CPJ documented at least 370 imprisoned in connection with their work. 

Pervasive censorship in China, for years one of the world’s top jailers of journalists, makes it notoriously difficult to determine the exact number of journalists jailed there.

Jailings are not limited to the mainland and include British citizen and Hong Kong-based entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, who has been held in solitary confinement in Hong Kong since 2020.

Israel was catapulted to second place in the 2024 census — more than doubling its 2023 record — as it tried to silence coverage from the occupied Palestinian territories. A total of 108 journalists were imprisoned in the Middle East and North Africa, almost half of those as a result of the Israel-Gaza war.

Asia remained the region with the highest number of journalists behind bars in 2024, accounting for more than 30% (111) of the global total. In addition to the leading jailers – China, Myanmar, and Vietnam – journalists were also behind bars in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines. 

Globally, CPJ found that more than 60% — 228 — of the imprisoned journalists faced broad anti-state charges, including often-vague charges of terrorism or extremism. - CPJ