ECONOMIC FREEDOM OF THE WORLD REPORT 2024

The concept of measuring economic freedom began with the Freedom House, which focused on political and cultural freedoms. In response to this, the Fraser Institute, a canadian think tank, developed the Economic Freedom of the World index to better reflect market-oriented perspectives. This index is based on 42 distinct variables, including government size, property rights security, monetary policy, and trade freedom. It provides a comprehensive view of how economic policies affect individual freedoms and overall economic performance.

Partly in response to dissatisfaction with the Freedom House index from advocates of  market liberal viewpoint, Milton Friedman and Michael Walker of the Fraser Institute hosted a series of conferences on economic freedom. Eventually this resulted in a report on worldwide economic freedom, Economic Freedom of the World. The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal later created another similar index, the Index of Economic Freedom.

2024 Rankings Snapshot

The report ranks the top 10 jurisdictions as follows:

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Switzerland
4. New Zealand
5. United States
6. Denmark
7. Ireland
8. Canada
9. Australia and Luxembourg