Norway topped the list for the second year in a row, with Sweden in second place | Sebastian Kahnert/AFP via Getty Images Press freedom under threat in Europe: report Authoritarian leaders are encouraging hostility toward journalists, according to 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

Press freedom has deteriorated significantly in Europe over the past year, as hostility toward the press grows globally, according to the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released Wednesday.

Four out of five of the index's biggest falls in press freedom took place in European countries: Malta (down 18 at 65th), Czech Republic (down 11 at 34th), Serbia (down 10 at 76th) and Slovakia (down 10 at 27th).

The index, which surveys press freedom in 180 countries and is compiled by Reporters Without Borders, finds that more and more democratically elected leaders are engaging in media bashing, a phenomenon it said is no longer confined to authoritarian regimes such as Turkey and Egypt.

The United States, where president Donald Trump has called reporters "enemies of the people," fell two places this year to 45th, while Canada rose by four places to enter the top 20.

Norway topped the list for the second year in a row, with Sweden in second place. But these countries have not been immune to the overall declining trend in press freedom either, and Finland has fallen in the ranking for the second time, the report says.