According to the 2015 Reporters Without Borders (RSF/RWB) World Press Freedom (WPF) index, Pacific islands have shown strong gains where the press has established its role as a counterweight to the government.

The Polynesian kingdom of Tonga, where independent press is now a reality, has risen 19 places to rank 44.

Fiji, where the first general elections since the 2006 military coup were held in September last year, is also well placed in the report.

It has risen 14 places to 93rd.

Mongolia climbed 34 places, the biggest jump in the index.

This comes at a time when RSF said that world press freedom has been in decline globally.

Out of 180 countries surveyed for the 2015 WPF Index, 120 did not perform as well as they did last year.