Slovenia ranks 14th on the worldwide press freedom index published for the first time by the international association Reporters Without Borders. Topping the list are Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands, while unpleasant surprises came for many Western democracies. Placed behind Slovenia are Switzerland (15), the United States (17) and Italy (40), while the country also ranks the best among EU candidate countries. At the very bottom of the list are North Korea and China. The index was drawn up by polling journalists, researchers and legal experts about a range of press freedom violations, such as murders or arrests of journalists, censorship, pressure or state monopolies.