One hundred and eleven journalists, including seven women, have been killed in 2025, according to the International Federation of Journalists’ annual report on journalists and media professionals killed during the year.
The report, launched ahead of Human Rights Day on December 10, highlights another highly lethal year for journalists and media workers, with 46 percent of the deaths occurring in Gaza, Palestine.
Since 1990 and the launch of its annual Killed list, the IFJ has recorded 3,156 deaths worldwide, an average of 91 deaths per year, and 859 in the last ten years.
The Federation also released a list of 533 journalists currently in jail, with the Republic of China standing out as the world’s biggest jailer of journalists.
For the third consecutive year, the Middle East and Arab World has been the region worst affected by journalist killings. With 69 journalists killed, including 51 in Palestine, the Middle East and Arab World region accounted for 62 percent of all media professionals killed worldwide.
Yemen ranks second with 13 deaths, followed by Ukraine with eight, Sudan with six, India with four, and several other countries including the Philippines, Mexico, Peru and Pakistan each losing three journalists.
These figures highlight the concentration of danger in conflict zones while underscoring the need to strengthen protection of media professionals and bring to justice those who kill journalists.
In 2024, the IFJ documented 122 deaths, including 14 women, and 516 imprisoned journalists.
Middle East and Arab World
The Middle East and Arab World holds the record for the highest number of journalists killed, with 69 deaths.
Palestinian journalists have paid the highest price as a result of the war in Gaza, where the IFJ recorded 51 killings.
The most emblematic was the August 10 targeted attack on Anas Al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter, who was killed along with five other journalists and media workers in a tent housing journalists on the outskirts of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
In Yemen, 13 journalists and media workers were killed in a single attack by the Israeli Army on the offices of the ’26 September’ newspaper, considered one of the worst-ever attacks on media offices.
Journalists were also targeted and killed in Syria and Iran because of their work, with two deaths in each country.
Governments across the region have shown their determination to stifle press freedom by instilling fear in critical journalists, with 74 journalists currently imprisoned, primarily in Israel with 41 Palestinian journalists detained, Egypt with 15, and Yemen with 11.
Asia-Pacific
The IFJ recorded 15 journalists killed in the Asia-Pacific region, including four in India, three in Pakistan, three in the Philippines, two in Bangladesh, two in Afghanistan and one in Nepal.
Of particular note was the brutal murder of Indian journalist Mukesh Chandrakar on January 1, who was beaten to death with an iron bar for his reporting and later found in a septic tank.
The Asia-Pacific region continues to imprison the largest number of journalists, with 277 currently behind bars.
China, including Hong Kong, remains the world’s largest jail for media professionals with 143 journalists imprisoned, followed by Myanmar with 49 and Vietnam with 37.
Europe
The IFJ recorded 10 killings in Europe this year, including eight in Ukraine, one in Russia and one in Turkey.
It is the third time in the last ten years that Europe has recorded such a high number of journalists killed, first in 2015 with the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, then in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The figures highlight a deeply worrying trend of drones being used to target journalists or their vehicles.
Ukrainian journalists Olena Hramova, Yevhen Karmazin and Tetyana Kulyk, as well as French journalist Antoni Lallican, were deliberately killed by Russian drones, while Russian journalist Ivan Zuev was reportedly also killed in a drone attack.
In Europe, the number of journalists imprisoned has risen by nearly 40 percent compared to last year to 149, mainly due to intensified repression in Azerbaijan and Russia.
This is the highest figure recorded in Europe since 2018.
Africa
Nine media workers were killed in Africa in 2025, with Sudan accounting for six of the deaths.
Since the conflict in Sudan began on April 15, 2023, journalists reporting on the civil war have been specifically targeted by the warring factions, particularly by the Rapid Support Forces.
The IFJ also recorded one killing each in Mozambique, Somalia and Zimbabwe.
Twenty-seven journalists remain imprisoned in Africa, with Eritrea holding seven journalists, some for over a decade, making it the continent’s biggest jailer of journalists.
Many African countries continue to weaponize their national laws to silence journalists.
Americas
The Americas region recorded eight killings this year, with Mexico and Peru topping the list with three journalists murdered each in 2025.
The situation in Peru is particularly worrying as the country had seen no fatal crimes against journalists for almost a decade.
Colombia and Ecuador each recorded one killing, while six journalists remain imprisoned in the region, including four in Venezuela.
IFJ Response
IFJ President Dominique Pradalié said journalists’ killings and imprisonment are rising in 2025, and it is deeply shameful how little governments around the world are doing to protect them or uphold press freedom.
“Instead, we are witnessing direct targeting, blatant attempts to silence critical voices, and efforts to control the narrative on matters of public interest. These actions are all in clear violation of international law,” Pradalié said.
She urged the world to wake up to brutal attacks on journalists and growing efforts to restrict the public’s right to pluralistic and independent information.
“The time has come – indeed, it is long overdue – to adopt an international instrument dedicated to the safety and protection of journalists. We therefore urge all United Nations Member States to move forward on this goal without delay,” Pradalié said.
She added that people everywhere deserve full access to information, and journalists must be protected from any attempt to silence them, demanding justice for killed and imprisoned journalists worldwide.
Download the list of journalists and media workers killed in 2025.