Freest economies...HK, Singapore top again
Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia topped the list of the world's freest economies. The three are ranked No.1, No.2 and No.3, respectively in the Index of Economic Freedom survey for the year 2007 conducted by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation.
However, China and India, two of the world's fastest growing economies, have been ranked way down at 104 and 119, respectively.
Hong Kong and Singapore finished 1st and 2nd in the rankings for the 13th straight year with a score of 89.3% and 85.7%. Australia jumped from 9th to 3rd, giving Asia a sweep of the top three spots and, with New Zealand at No. 5, four of the top 10.
The US came at No.4. Europe had four countries in the Top 10, including the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Rounding off the Top 10 is Canada. For the first time 'Americas' has been listed as a separate region.
North Korea remains the world’s least-free economy with just 3 points.
The move toward greater economic freedom worldwide stalled over the last year, according to the 13th annual Index of Economic Freedom. The 157 nations rated in the new Index received an average economic freedom score of 60.6 on a scale of 1-100. That’s down slightly (0.3%) from the previous year’s average, but still rates as the second highest level of freedom in Index history.