Hong Kong is once again the most economically free jurisdiction in the world, according to the Fraser Institute’s annual Economic Freedom of the Worldreport, released this week.
The report measures the economic freedom (levels of personal choice, ability to enter markets, security of privately owned property, rule of law, etc.) by analysing the policies and institutions of 157 countries and territories.
“Economic freedom breeds prosperity, and the most economically free countries offer the highest quality of life while the lowest-ranked countries are usually burdened by oppressive regimes that limit the freedom and opportunity of their citizens,” said Fred McMahon from the Fraser Institute.
According to the report, based on 2013 statistics (the most recent year of available data), the top 10 most economically free jurisdictions are Hong Kong (which continues its streak of number one rankings), Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Jordan, Ireland and Canada, with the United Kingdom and Chile tied for 10th.
The United States, once considered a bastion of economic freedom, now ranks 16th in the world, a steep fall from second place in the world rankings in 2000. Other notable rankings include Japan (26), Germany (29), Russia (99), China (111) and India (114).
The 10 lowest-ranked countries are Angola, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Argentina, Syria, Chad, Libya, Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Temba Nolutshungu of the Free Market Foundation, was cited by Fin24 news sites as saying that South Africa has too much red tape for potential international investors. “In terms of our rating on exchange controls in the world, we also scored very low. And at the end of the day they cost us in terms of economic freedom. This sends a negative signal to potential investors and it means less foreign investment is flowing into the country,” he said.
