OTTAWA — Canada has slipped six places to 55th spot on an annual list of global freedom-of-information rankings, and is now tied with Bulgaria and Uruguay.

The Halifax-based Centre for Law and Democracy and human rights organization Access Info Europe published the list to mark International Right to Know Day.

The rating system, launched in 2011, uses a 150-point scale to indicate the strengths and weaknesses of freedom-of-information laws around the world.

Other countries have improved

Canada has dropped down the list partly because other countries have leapfrogged it by introducing better laws, the latest report card says.

War-torn Afghanistan, working to rebuild its public institutions, tops the rankings this year, followed by Mexico, Serbia and Sri Lanka.

It is tremendous that Afghanistan has passed such "an incredibly strong" right-to-information law, said Toby Mendel, executive director of the non-profit Centre for Law and Democracy.

"Although implementation is always a challenge, this law will at least give the country the tools it needs to ensure its citizens can access information from public authorities."