Table of Contents
Internet Censorship Defined

Censorship of the Internet occurs in various forms and depths in countries that practice it. The Open Net Initiative and Reporters Without Borders are just two of the numerous groups keeping an eye out for new forms of internet censorship in various nations.
DNS manipulation, IP blocking, keyword filtering, and monitoring are some methods used to control online content.
Using techniques like DNS spoofing and IP blocking, certain websites may be denied access to certain nations. In the computer industry, removing domain names from a country’s list of accessible or available websites is known as DNS tampering.
DNS stands for Domain Name System. Similarly, some IPs, or device addresses, may be prevented from accessing content. There is the additional option of blocking certain keywords from being used by a country’s search engines, thereby blocking its citizens from accessing certain websites.
A struggle against these strategies is a fight for human rights, free expression, and oppression. Additionally, it creates difficulties for countries during the conflict, making it an urgent problem all across the globe.
Open Net Initiative
The Open Net Initiative classifies several types of Internet censorship according to who is responsible for impeding free speech online. However, it is hard to tell to what extent the censorship extends due to the material being prohibited.
- Pervasive censorship: Several types of material are blocked in their entirety.
- Substantial: The number of restricted material types has decreased, although strict screening remains.
- Selective: Some forms of content, such as child pornography, may be deemed unacceptable by a government and censored, even though such measures would be considered an abuse of power and a violation of human rights.
- Suspected: It is difficult to tell whether or not a government restricts the free flow of information because of how it acts.
- No evidence: That part of a country’s population that engages in almost all of its Internet activities is considered to be
Countries That Censor the Internet

Human rights groups investigate why governments censor the Internet and find that it is usually because citizens do not feel safe discussing controversial topics or accessing information that may facilitate such discussions.
Why? Because it thwarts their plans. Every year, Reporters Without Borders produces a list of nations that block the Internet.
According to Reporters Without Borders, two broad types of countries engage in this practice. They are referred to as Internet Foes and Surveillance States. There are several degrees of monitoring, each with its pros and cons.
People are under observation Under Surveillance because, in certain nations, citizens might be detained for viewing anything that the government deems subversive on the Internet.
To provide one example, inhabitants of Belarus, a nation that is politically close to Russia, might be jailed for sharing information online. If not already labeled, the following countries are considered Internet Enemies by Reporters Without Borders.
Also See: Bitcoin Ownership by Country 2022
- Australia – Under Surveillance
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh – Under Surveillance
- Belarus
- Bangladesh
- China
- Cuba
- Egypt – Under Surveillance
- Eritrea – Under Surveillance
- Ethiopia
- France – Under Surveillance
- India
- Iran
- Kazakhstan – Under Surveillance
- Malaysia – Under Surveillance
- North Korea
- Norway – Under Surveillance
- Pakistan
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- South Korea – Under Surveillance
- Sri Lanka – Under Surveillance
- Sudan
- Syria
- Thailand – Under Surveillance
- Tunisia – Under Surveillance
- Turkey – Under Surveillance
- Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
Country | 2022 Population |
---|---|
China | 1425887.3370 |
India | 1417173.1730 |
United States | 338289.8570 |
Indonesia | 275501.3390 |
Pakistan | 235824.8620 |
Nigeria | 218541.2120 |
Brazil | 215313.4980 |
Bangladesh | 171186.3720 |
Russia | 144713.3140 |
Mexico | 127504.1250 |
Japan | 123951.6920 |
Ethiopia | 123379.9240 |
Philippines | 115559.0090 |
Egypt | 110990.1030 |
DR Congo | 99010.2120 |
Vietnam | 98186.8560 |
Iran | 88550.5700 |
Turkey | 85341.2410 |
Germany | 83369.8430 |
Thailand | 71697.0300 |
United Kingdom | 67508.9360 |
Tanzania | 65497.7480 |
France | 64626.6280 |
South Africa | 59893.8850 |
Italy | 59037.4740 |
Myanmar | 54179.3060 |
Kenya | 54027.4870 |
Colombia | 51874.0240 |
South Korea | 51815.8100 |
Spain | 47558.6300 |
Uganda | 47249.5850 |
Sudan | 46874.2040 |
Argentina | 45510.3180 |
Algeria | 44903.2250 |
Iraq | 44496.1220 |
Afghanistan | 41128.7710 |
Poland | 39857.1450 |
Ukraine | 39701.7390 |
Canada | 38454.3270 |
Morocco | 37457.9710 |
Saudi Arabia | 36408.8200 |
Angola | 35588.9870 |
Uzbekistan | 34627.6520 |
Peru | 34049.5880 |
Malaysia | 33938.2210 |
Yemen | 33696.6140 |
Ghana | 33475.8700 |
Mozambique | 32969.5180 |
Nepal | 30547.5800 |
Madagascar | 29611.7140 |
Venezuela | 28301.6960 |
Ivory Coast | 28160.5420 |
Cameroon | 27914.5360 |
Niger | 26207.9770 |
Australia | 26177.4130 |
North Korea | 26069.4160 |
Taiwan | 23893.3940 |
Burkina Faso | 22673.7620 |
Mali | 22593.5900 |
Syria | 22125.2490 |
Sri Lanka | 21832.1430 |
Malawi | 20405.3170 |
Zambia | 20017.6750 |
Romania | 19659.2670 |
Chile | 19603.7330 |
Kazakhstan | 19397.9980 |
Ecuador | 18001 |
Guatemala | 17843.9080 |
Chad | 17723.3150 |
Somalia | 17597.5110 |
Netherlands | 17564.0140 |
Senegal | 17316.4490 |
Cambodia | 16767.8420 |
Zimbabwe | 16320.5370 |
Guinea | 13859.3410 |
Rwanda | 13776.6980 |
Benin | 13352.8640 |
Burundi | 12889.5760 |
Tunisia | 12356.1170 |
Bolivia | 12224.1100 |
Belgium | 11655.9300 |
Haiti | 11584.9960 |
Jordan | 11285.8690 |
Dominican Republic | 11228.8210 |
Cuba | 11212.1910 |
South Sudan | 10913.1640 |
Sweden | 10549.3470 |
Czech Republic | 10493.9860 |
Honduras | 10432.8600 |
Greece | 10384.9710 |
Azerbaijan | 10358.0740 |
Portugal | 10270.8650 |
Papua New Guinea | 10142.6190 |
Hungary | 9967.3080 |
Tajikistan | 9952.7870 |
Belarus | 9534.9540 |
United Arab Emirates | 9441.1290 |
Israel | 9038.3090 |
Austria | 8939.6170 |
Togo | 8848.6990 |
Switzerland | 8740.4720 |
Sierra Leone | 8605.7180 |
Laos | 7529.4750 |
Hong Kong | 7488.8650 |
Serbia | 7221.3650 |
Nicaragua | 6948.3920 |
Libya | 6812.3410 |
Bulgaria | 6781.9530 |
Paraguay | 6780.7440 |
Kyrgyzstan | 6630.6230 |
Turkmenistan | 6430.7700 |
El Salvador | 6336.3920 |
Singapore | 5975.6890 |
Republic of the Congo | 5970.4240 |
Denmark | 5882.2610 |
Slovakia | 5643.4530 |
Central African Republic | 5579.1440 |
Finland | 5540.7450 |
Lebanon | 5489.7390 |
Norway | 5434.3190 |
Liberia | 5302.6810 |
Palestine | 5250.0720 |
New Zealand | 5185.2880 |
Costa Rica | 5180.8290 |
Ireland | 5023.1090 |
Mauritania | 4736.1390 |
Oman | 4576.2980 |
Panama | 4408.5810 |
Kuwait | 4268.8730 |
Croatia | 4030.3580 |
Georgia | 3744.3850 |
Eritrea | 3684.0320 |
Uruguay | 3422.7940 |
Mongolia | 3398.3660 |
Moldova | 3272.9960 |
Puerto Rico | 3252.4070 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3233.5260 |
Albania | 2842.3210 |
Jamaica | 2827.3770 |
Armenia | 2780.4690 |
Lithuania | 2750.0550 |
Gambia | 2705.9920 |
Qatar | 2695.1220 |
Botswana | 2630.2960 |
Namibia | 2567.0120 |
Gabon | 2388.9920 |
Lesotho | 2305.8250 |
Slovenia | 2119.8440 |
Guinea-Bissau | 2105.5660 |
North Macedonia | 2093.5990 |
Latvia | 1850.6510 |
Equatorial Guinea | 1674.9080 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 1531.0440 |
Bahrain | 1472.2330 |
Timor-Leste | 1341.2960 |
Estonia | 1326.0620 |
Mauritius | 1299.4690 |
Cyprus | 1251.4880 |
Eswatini | 1201.6700 |
Djibouti | 1120.8490 |
Reunion | 974.0520 |
Fiji | 929.7660 |
Comoros | 836.7740 |
Guyana | 808.7260 |
Bhutan | 782.4550 |
Solomon Islands | 724.2730 |
Macau | 695.1680 |
Luxembourg | 647.5990 |
Montenegro | 627.0820 |
Suriname | 618.0400 |
Cape Verde | 593.1490 |
Western Sahara | 575.9860 |
Malta | 533.2860 |
Maldives | 523.7870 |
Brunei | 449.0020 |
Bahamas | 409.9840 |
Belize | 405.2720 |
Guadeloupe | 395.7520 |
Iceland | 372.8990 |
Martinique | 367.5070 |
Vanuatu | 326.7400 |
Mayotte | 326.1010 |
French Polynesia | 306.2790 |
French Guiana | 304.5570 |
New Caledonia | 289.9500 |
Barbados | 281.6350 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 227.3800 |
Samoa | 222.3820 |
Curacao | 191.1630 |
Saint Lucia | 179.8570 |
Guam | 171.7740 |
Kiribati | 131.2320 |
Grenada | 125.4380 |
Micronesia | 114.1640 |
Jersey | 110.7780 |
Seychelles | 107.1180 |
Tonga | 106.8580 |
Aruba | 106.4450 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 103.9480 |
United States Virgin Islands | 99.4650 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 93.7630 |
Isle of Man | 84.5190 |
Andorra | 79.8240 |
Dominica | 72.7370 |
Cayman Islands | 68.7060 |
Bermuda | 64.1840 |
Guernsey | 63.3010 |
Greenland | 56.4660 |
Faroe Islands | 53.0900 |
Northern Mariana Islands | 49.5510 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 47.6570 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 45.7030 |
American Samoa | 44.2730 |
Sint Maarten | 44.1750 |
Marshall Islands | 41.5690 |
Liechtenstein | 39.3270 |
Monaco | 36.4690 |
San Marino | 33.6600 |
Gibraltar | 32.6490 |
Saint Martin | 31.7910 |
British Virgin Islands | 31.3050 |
Palau | 18.0550 |
Cook Islands | 17.0110 |
Anguilla | 15.8570 |
Nauru | 12.6680 |
Wallis and Futuna | 11.5720 |
Tuvalu | 11.3120 |
Saint Barthelemy | 10.9670 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 5.8620 |
Montserrat | 4.3900 |
Falkland Islands | 3.7800 |
Niue | 1.9340 |
Tokelau | 1.8710 |
Vatican City | 0.5100 |