At least 60 media professionals were killed in 2025 due to their journalistic activities, according to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) database. By far the deadliest place for journalists was in the Palestinian territories, where 25 deaths were officially recorded last year. Palestine also topped the list in 2024, with 21 recorded deaths that year. Following some way behind are Mexico with nine deaths, Peru with four, Ecuador and Ukraine with three, as well as Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan with two.
A single journalist was also killed in each of the following countries: Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, 140 journalists and media professionals were listed as “disappeared” last year, with the highest numbers recorded in Syria (37), Mexico (28) and Iraq (12).
Reporters Without Borders emphasizes that media professionals’ deaths are only listed in their database if the NGO can confirm it as being linked to their journalistic work. This explains why these figures seem low and that they are subject to change as fact-checking is carried out.
