South Sudan has fallen 12 places in the 2013 World Press Freedom Index unveiled by Reporters without Borders on Wednesday January 30.

The press freedom watchdog that charters media freedom across 179 countries explained that South Sudan fell 12 places after the murder of Isaiah Abraham on December 5, 2012; many attributed his killing to have been motivated by his writings, which most of the times were critical of the government's handling of the state's affairs.

Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg and Andorra are the top five countries offering the best environment for journalists.

According to Reporters without Borders, Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Syria and Somalia are some of the countries that least respect media freedom.

Malawi, Ivory Coast, Burma and Afghanistan registered the biggest leaps in the 2013 Index while Mali, Tanzania, Oman and Israel were the biggest fallers.

Brazil, India, China and Russia also dropped in the 2013 media freedom index.