Overview
- RSF’s annual balance for Dec. 1, 2024–Dec. 1, 2025 records 67 journalists killed worldwide and identifies Mexico as the second most dangerous country with nine murders.
- Mexico also has 28 journalists listed as disappeared, while RSF says more than 90% of killings and all disappearances in the country remain unresolved.
- Globally, 503 journalists are imprisoned in 47 countries, led by China with 121 detainees, Russia with 48, and Myanmar with 47.
- RSF attributes 79% of journalist killings to armed forces and organized crime; it reports the Israeli army accounted for 43% of deaths in 2025, including 29 journalists in Gaza.
- Advocates in Mexico fault the federal protection mechanism as under-resourced and structurally deficient despite covering 600+ journalists, note a roughly 25% acceptance rate for new applicants this year, and warn that hostile official rhetoric heightens risk.