
Mossi Happy To Play Grinch For A Stronger Central America
In a turnaround from 2022, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration's latest infrastructure bond offering is proving popular with investors.
According to free-market economists, economic freedom is the key to prosperity and growth.
New ideas are born every day in homes, schools, workplaces. They can further human development, improve our health and environment, create jobs and wealth. In order for these ideas to turn into reality individuals must be free to work, consume and invest without restrictions. This is the focus of the Index of Economic Freedom, an annual ranking of the Washington's think-tank Heritage Foundation which measures the level of economic freedom in countries around the globe.
The link between economic freedom and human wellbeing is proven. If poverty, sicknesses and ignorance—the researchers say—are receding across all regions, it is largely due to the widespread adoption of more progressive and transparent economic policies. Out of 180 economies surveyed in the 2020 edition of the report, increases in economic freedom were registered by 124 of them. Twelve are the factors related to four key-aspects of the economic environment that were graded from 0 to 100 and averaged to determine a country’s score: rule of law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness); government size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health); regulatory efficiency (business, labor and monetary freedom); open markets (trade, investment and financial freedom). Overall, the global average score was 61.6, corresponding to a 0.8 point gain from the year before or a 1.3% increase—the highest ever recorded since the index was first published in 1995.
However, as the freedom to participate actively and fully in the economy grows worldwide, these hard-fought gains appear to be in jeopardy. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to play out across nations and governments try to strike a balance between public health and economic health, people’s economic prospects and opportunities have often been reduced or put on hold. The coronavirus, some have pointed out, will turn the economic freedom ranking inside-out. Yet, the editor of the index Anthony B. Kim countered, countries with greater levels of economic freedom are better positioned to produce more favorable outcomes when they are faced with calamities such as the current outbreak. Indeed, many nations ranking in the top positions of the index are also among those which have reacted more promptly and effectively when the pandemic struck.
Rank |
Country/Territory |
Economic Freedom Score |
1 | Singapore | 89.4 |
2 | Hong Kong | 89.1 |
3 | New Zealand | 84.1 |
4 | Australia | 82.6 |
5 | Switzerland | 82.0 |
6 | Ireland | 80.9 |
7 | United Kingdom | 79.3 |
8 | Denmark | 78.3 |
9 | Canada | 78.2 |
10 | Estonia | 77.7 |
11 | Georgia | 77.1 |
12 | Iceland | 77.1 |
13 | Taiwan | 77.1 |
14 | Netherlands | 77.0 |
15 | Chile | 76.8 |
16 | Lithuania | 76.7 |
17 | United States | 76.6 |
18 | United Arab Emirates | 76.2 |
19 | Luxembourg | 75.8 |
20 | Finland | 75.7 |
21 | Mauritius | 74.9 |
22 | Sweden | 74.9 |
23 | Czech Republic | 74.8 |
24 | Malaysia | 74.7 |
25 | Israel | 74.0 |
26 | South Korea | 74.0 |
27 | Germany | 73.5 |
28 | Norway | 73.4 |
29 | Austria | 73.3 |
30 | Japan | 73.3 |
31 | Qatar | 72.3 |
32 | Latvia | 71.9 |
33 | Rwanda | 70.9 |
34 | Armenia | 70.6 |
35 | Macau | 70.3 |
36 | Bulgaria | 70.2 |
37 | Cyprus | 70.1 |
38 | Romania | 69.7 |
39 | Botswana | 69.6 |
40 | Kazakhstan | 69.6 |
41 | Macedonia | 69.5 |
42 | Malta | 69.5 |
43 | Thailand | 69.4 |
44 | Azerbaijan | 69.3 |
45 | Colombia | 69.2 |
46 | Poland | 69.1 |
47 | Uruguay | 69.1 |
48 | Belgium | 68.9 |
49 | Jamaica | 68.5 |
50 | Saint Lucia | 68.2 |
51 | Peru | 67.9 |
52 | Slovenia | 67.8 |
53 | Kosovo | 67.4 |
54 | Indonesia | 67.2 |
55 | Panama | 67.2 |
56 | Portugal | 67.0 |
57 | Albania | 66.9 |
58 | Spain | 66.9 |
59 | St. Vincent & the Grenadines | 66.8 |
60 | Slovak Republic | 66.8 |
61 | Brunei Darussalam | 66.6 |
62 | Hungary | 66.4 |
63 | Bahrain | 66.3 |
64 | France | 66.0 |
65 | Jordan | 66.0 |
66 | Mexico | 66.0 |
67 | Serbia | 66.0 |
68 | Costa Rica | 65.8 |
69 | Bahamas | 64.5 |
70 | Philippines | 64.5 |
71 | Turkey | 64.4 |
72 | Seychelles | 64.3 |
73 | Guatemala | 64.0 |
74 | Italy | 63.8 |
75 | Cabo Verde | 63.6 |
76 | Oman | 63.6 |
77 | Fiji | 63.4 |
78 | Morocco | 63.3 |
79 | Kuwait | 63.2 |
80 | Paraguay | 63.0 |
81 | Kyrgyz Republic | 62.9 |
82 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 62.6 |
83 | Saudi Arabia | 62.4 |
84 | Croatia | 62.2 |
85 | Bhutan | 62.1 |
86 | Samoa | 62.1 |
87 | Moldova | 62.0 |
88 | Belarus | 61.7 |
89 | Tanzania | 61.7 |
90 | El Salvador | 61.6 |
91 | Montenegro | 61.5 |
92 | Barbados | 61.4 |
93 | Honduras | 61.1 |
94 | Russia | 61.0 |
95 | Dominican Republic | 60.9 |
96 | Namibia | 60.9 |
97 | Dominica | 60.8 |
98 | Vanuata | 60.7 |
99 | Madagascar | 60.5 |
100 | Greece | 59.9 |
101 | Côte d'Ivoire | 59.7 |
102 | China | 59.5 |
103 | Uganda | 59.5 |
104 | Ghana | 59.4 |
105 | South Africa | 58.8 |
106 | Tonga | 58.8 |
107 | Vietnam | 58.8 |
108 | Papa New Guinea | 58.4 |
109 | Trinidad and Tobago | 58.3 |
110 | Senegal | 58.0 |
111 | Belize | 57.4 |
112 | Sri Lanka | 57.4 |
113 | Cambodia | 57.3 |
114 | Nicaragua | 57.2 |
115 | Nigeria | 57.2 |
116 | Uzbekistan | 57.2 |
117 | Burkina Faso | 56.7 |
118 | Gabon | 56.7 |
119 | Guinea | 56.5 |
120 | India | 56.5 |
121 | Maldives | 56.5 |
122 | Bangladesh | 56.4 |
123 | Gambia | 56.3 |
124 | Guyana | 56.2 |
125 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 56.2 |
126 | Mali | 55.9 |
127 | Mongolia | 55.9 |
128 | Tunisia | 55.8 |
129 | Lao P.D.R. | 55.5 |
130 | Eswatini | 55.3 |
131 | Kenya | 55.3 |
132 | Mauritania | 55.3 |
133 | Benin | 55.2 |
134 | Ukraine | 54.9 |
135 | Pakistan | 54.3 |
136 | Afghanistan | 54.7 |
137 | Niger | 54.7 |
138 | Lesotho | 54.5 |
139 | Nepal | 54.2 |
140 | Togo | 54.1 |
141 | Burma | 54.0 |
142 | Egypt | 54.0 |
143 | Brazil | 53.7 |
144 | Comoros | 53.7 |
145 | Cameroon | 53.6 |
146 | Ethiopia | 53.6 |
147 | Zambia | 53.5 |
148 | Guinea-Bissau | 53.3 |
149 | Argentina | 53.1 |
150 | Djibouti | 52.9 |
151 | Solomon Islands | 52.8 |
152 | Malawi | 52.8 |
153 | Haiti | 52.3 |
154 | Angola | 52.2 |
155 | Tajikistan | 52.2 |
156 | Micronesia | 52.0 |
157 | Lebanon | 51.7 |
158 | Ecuador | 51.3 |
159 | Central African Republic | 50.7 |
160 | Mozambique | 50.5 |
161 | Chad | 50.2 |
162 | Congo, Democratic Republic | 49.5 |
163 | Suriname | 49.5 |
164 | Iran | 49.2 |
165 | Burundi | 49.0 |
166 | Liberia | 49.0 |
167 | Equatorial Guinea | 48.3 |
168 | Sierra Leone | 48.0 |
169 | Algeria | 46.9 |
170 | Turkmenistan | 46.5 |
171 | Timor-Leste | 45.9 |
172 | Kirbati | 45.2 |
173 | Sudan | 45.0 |
174 | Zimbabwe | 43.1 |
175 | Bolivia | 42.8 |
176 | Congo, Republic of | 41.8 |
177 | Eritrea | 38.5 |
178 | Cuba | 26.9 |
179 | Venezuela | 25.2 |
180 | North Korea | 4.2 |
181 | Iraq | N/A |
182 | Libya | N/A |
183 | Liechtenstein | N/A |
184 | Somalia | N/A |
185 | Syria | N/A |
186 | Yemen | N/A |
N/A — Not available. Source: 2020 Index Of Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation.