FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Nearly half of the twenty countries with the least amount of press freedom in the world are located in the Asia-Pacific, according to Reporters Without Borders’ 2013 World Press Freedom Index.

Of the twenty countries making the bottom of the list, nine are located in the Asia-Pacific. In ascending order these countries are: North Korea, Iran, China, Vietnam, Laos, Uzbekistan, Laos, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan.

Read more from Zachery Keck in The Diplomat.