Mapped: The State of Economic Freedom in 2023

Mapped: The State of Economic Freedom in 2023

The concept of economic freedom serves as a vital framework for evaluating the extent to which individuals and businesses have the freedom to make economic decisions. In countries with low economic freedom, governments exert coercion and constraints on liberties, restricting choice for individuals and businesses, which can ultimately hinder prosperity.

The map above uses the annual Index of Economic Freedom from the Heritage Foundation to showcase the level of economic freedom in every country worldwide on a scale of 0-100, looking at factors like property rights, tax burdens, labor freedom, and so on.

The ranking categorizing scores of 80+ as free economies, 70-79.9 as mostly free, 60-69.9 as moderately free, 50-59.9 as mostly unfree, and 0-49.9 as repressed.

Measuring Economic Freedom

This ranking uses four broad categories with three key indicators each, both qualitative and quantitative, to measure economic freedom.

1. Rule of law: property rights, judicial effectiveness, government integrity
2. Size of government: tax burdens, fiscal health, government spending
3. Regulatory efficiency: labor freedom, monetary freedom, business freedom
4. Open markets: financial freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom

The 12 indicators are weighted equally and scored from 0-100. The overall score is then determined from the average of the 12 indicators.

Here’s a closer look at every country’s score:

Rank	Country	2023 Score
#1	🇸🇬 Singapore	83.9
#2	🇨🇭 Switzerland	83.8
#3	🇮🇪 Ireland	82.0
#4	🇹🇼 Taiwan	80.7
#5	🇳🇿 New Zealand	78.9
#6	🇪🇪 Estonia	78.6
#7	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	78.4
#8	🇳🇱 Netherlands	78.0
#9	🇩🇰 Denmark	77.6
#10	🇸🇪 Sweden	77.5
#11	🇫🇮 Finland	77.1
#12	🇳🇴 Norway	76.9
#13	🇦🇺 Australia	74.8
#14	🇩🇪 Germany	73.7
#15	🇰🇷 South Korea	73.7
#16	🇨🇦 Canada	73.7
#17	🇱🇻 Latvia	72.8
#18	🇨🇾 Cyprus	72.3
#19	🇮🇸 Iceland	72.2
#20	🇱🇹 Lithuania	72.2
#21	🇨🇿 Czechia	71.9
#22	🇨🇱 Chile	71.1
#23	🇦🇹 Austria	71.1
#24	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	70.9
#25	🇺🇸 United States	70.6
#26	🇲🇺 Mauritius	70.6
#27	🇺🇾 Uruguay	70.2
#28	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	69.9
#29	🇧🇧 Barbados	69.8
#30	🇵🇹 Portugal	69.5
#31	🇯🇵 Japan	69.3
#32	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	69.3
#33	🇸🇰 Slovakia	69.0
#34	🇮🇱 Israel	68.9
#35	🇬🇪 Georgia	68.7
#36	🇶🇦 Qatar	68.6
#37	🇸🇮 Slovenia	68.5
#38	🇼🇸 Samoa	68.3
#39	🇯🇲 Jamaica	68.1
#40	🇵🇱 Poland	67.7
#41	🇲🇹 Malta	67.5
#42	🇲🇾 Malaysia	67.3
#43	🇧🇪 Belgium	67.1
#44	🇵🇪 Peru	66.5
#45	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	66.5
#46	🇭🇷 Croatia	66.4
#47	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	65.8
#48	🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam	65.7
#49	🇦🇱 Albania	65.3
#50	🇦🇲 Armenia	65.1
#51	🇪🇸 Spain	65.0
#52	🇧🇼 Botswana	64.9
#53	🇷🇴 Romania	64.5
#54	🇭🇺 Hungary	64.1
#55	🇵🇦 Panama	63.8
#56	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	63.7
#57	🇫🇷 France	63.6
#58	🇷🇸 Serbia	63.5
#59	🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	63.5
#60	🇮🇩 Indonesia	63.5
#61	🇲🇽 Mexico	63.2
#62	🇨🇴 Colombia	63.1
#63	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	62.9
#64	🇬🇹 Guatemala	62.7
#65	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	62.6
#66	🇧🇸 The Bahamas	62.6
#67	🇫🇲 Micronesia	62.6
#68	🇧🇭 Bahrain	62.5
#69	🇮🇹 Italy	62.3
#70	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	62.1
#71	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	62.1
#72	🇻🇳 Vietnam	61.8
#73	🇲🇳 Mongolia	61.7
#74	🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe	61.5
#75	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	61.4
#76	🇵🇾 Paraguay	61.0
#77	🇲🇪 Montenegro	60.9
#78	🇽🇰 Kosovo	60.7
#79	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	60.7
#80	🇹🇭 Thailand	60.6
#81	🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire	60.4
#82	🇹🇴 Tonga	60.0
#83	🇹🇿 Tanzania	60.0
#84	🇧🇯 Benin	59.8
#85	🇧🇿 Belize	59.8
#86	🇩🇲 Dominica	59.7
#87	🇸🇨 Seychelles	59.5
#88	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	59.5
#89	🇵🇭 Philippines	59.3
#90	🇧🇹 Bhutan	59.0
#91	🇲🇬 Madagascar	58.9
#92	🇰🇮 Kiribati	58.8
#93	🇯🇴 Jordan	58.8
#94	🇭🇳 Honduras	58.7
#95	🇴🇲 Oman	58.5
#96	🇲🇩 Moldova	58.5
#97	🇲🇦 Morocco	58.4
#98	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	58.3
#99	🇬🇭 Ghana	58.0
#100	🇫🇯 Fiji	58.0
#101	🇬🇲 The Gambia	57.9
#102	🇳🇦 Namibia	57.7
#103	🇸🇳 Senegal	57.7
#104	🇹🇷 Türkiye	56.9
#105	🇬🇾 Guyana	56.9
#106	🇬🇷 Greece	56.9
#107	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	56.9
#108	🇰🇼 Kuwait	56.7
#109	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	56.5
#110	🇰🇭 Cambodia	56.5
#111	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	56.2
#112	🇬🇦 Gabon	56.1
#113	🇩🇯 Djibouti	56.1
#114	🇸🇻 El Salvador	56.0
#115	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	55.8
#116	🇿🇦 South Africa	55.7
#117	🇲🇷 Mauritania	55.3
#118	🇹🇬 Togo	55.3
#119	🇪🇨 Ecuador	55.0
#120	🇸🇿 Eswatini	54.9
#121	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	54.9
#122	🇲🇱 Mali	54.5
#123	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	54.4
#124	🇳🇬 Nigeria	53.9
#125	🇷🇺 Russia	53.8
#126	🇳🇪 Niger	53.7
#127	🇧🇷 Brazil	53.5
#128	🇰🇲 Comoros	53.5
#129	🇬🇳 Guinea	53.2
#130	🇦🇴 Angola	53.0
#131	🇮🇳 India	52.9
#132	🇹🇳 Tunisia	52.9
#133	🇲🇼 Malawi	52.8
#134	🇲🇿 Mozambique	52.5
#135	🇰🇪 Kenya	52.5
#136	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	52.2
#137	🇷🇼 Rwanda	52.2
#138	🇹🇩 Chad	52.0
#139	🇨🇲 Cameroon	51.9
#140	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	51.7
#141	🇱🇸 Lesotho	51.6
#142	🇳🇵 Nepal	51.4
#143	🇺🇬 Uganda	51.4
#144	🇦🇷 Argentina	51.0
#145	🇧🇾 Belarus	51.0
#146	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	50.6
#147	🇱🇦 Laos	50.3
#148	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	50.2
#149	🇭🇹 Haiti	49.9
#150	🇱🇷 Liberia	49.6
#151	🇪🇬 Egypt	49.6
#152	🇵🇰 Pakistan	49.4
#153	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	48.3
#154	🇨🇳 China	48.3
#155	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	48.3
#156	🇨🇬 Congo	48.1
#157	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	47.9
#158	🇿🇲 Zambia	47.8
#159	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	47.2
#160	🇲🇻 Maldives	46.6
#161	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	46.5
#162	🇲🇲 Myanmar	46.5
#163	🇸🇷 Suriname	46.1
#164	🇱🇧 Lebanon	45.6
#165	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	44.6
#166	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	43.8
#167	🇧🇴 Bolivia	43.4
#168	🇩🇿 Algeria	43.2
#169	🇮🇷 Iran	42.2
#170	🇧🇮 Burundi	41.9
#171	🇪🇷 Eritrea	39.5
#172	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	39.0
#173	🇸🇩 Sudan	32.8
#174	🇻🇪 Venezuela	25.8
#175	🇨🇺 Cuba	24.3
#176	🇰🇵 North Korea	2.9
-	🇮🇶 Iraq	N/A
-	🇱🇾 Libya	N/A
-	🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	N/A
-	Afghanistan	N/A

Only four countries in the world have a score of 80 or above, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, and Taiwan, categorizing them as completely free economically.

Let’s now look at things from a more regional perspective.

Europe

From a regional perspective, Europe ranks the strongest in economic freedom.

Despite being a powerhouse within Europe, Germany ranks 10th in the continent, with a score of 73.7. One of the categories Germany scored the weakest in was government spending (28.3/100). Over the last three years, government spending has averaged 49% of GDP.

Ireland ranks third globally, scoring particularly high in categories like property rights and judicial effectiveness. The country also has no minimum capital requirement—which is typically a banking regulation and corporate law issue determining how many assets an organization must hold—making it attractive for businesses to set up shop on the Emerald Isle.

Africa

Currently, Africa is the continent with the least economic freedom in the world, however, it is also the region with the highest potential for economic growth. A booming population, and thus, labor force, are promising for future innovation. In fact, it’s anticipated that Africa will see an increase of 2.5 billion people by the end of the century.

The lowest scoring country in Africa is Sudan, a country under further strain thanks to rife civil conflict. Historically, economic development has been constrained by rampant corruption and a lack of institutional capacity.

Conversely, Botswana registered the highest score on continental Africa (64.9), ranking higher than countries like France and Italy.

The Americas

In the Americas, the United States ranks 3rd regionally—25th overall—with a score of 70.6. The report attributes the categorization of U.S. as only “mostly free” to issues like inflation, increasing government debt, and unchecked deficit spending. Public debt currently sits at a figure equivalent to more than 128% of GDP.

In South America, Chile comes out on top, ranking above many other economic powerhouses like the U.S., the UK, and Japan. However, the 2021 election of a new Constitutional Assembly could risk the current economic state, as it favors a much more socialist approach to the economy.

East Asia and Oceania

China’s score is among the lowest in East Asia & Oceania, ranking 154th in the world categorizing it as a repressed economy. The ruling Chinese Communist Party routinely exercises direct control over economic activity. China’s protectionist stance towards foreign investment and a plethora of trade tariffs imposed by other nations also factor in here.

In India, where public debt is equivalent to about 84% of GDP, fiscal health is the worst-scoring category. Additionally, much of the economy remains quite informal; a large share of people work in jobs without tax slips, recorded income, or formal contracts protecting them, which challenges labor freedoms.

The Middle East and Central Asia

It may come as no surprise that the United Arab Emirates has the highest score in the Middle East. The UAE has implemented various measures and initiatives, such as tax exemptions, duty-free zones, streamlined business registration processes, and flexible regulatory frameworks to encourage entrepreneurship and foreign direct investment. As well, the top individual and corporate tax rates in the country are 0%.

Türkiye’s lowest scoring category relates to judiciary effectiveness and the rule of law. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has already been in power for two decades, recently won the country’s election, again cementing his authority over Turkish politics. This makes it unlikely that Türkiye’s economic freedom score will recover in the short to medium term.