Cato releases eighth annual ranking of economic freedom
Hong Kong tops list; U.S. ties for third
WASHINGTON -- Hong Kong retains the highest rating for economic freedom (8.7 out of 10), followed closely by Singapore (8.6 out of 10), in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2004 Annual Report released today by the Cato Institute. The United States tied for third place (8.2 out of 10) with New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Australia, Canada, Ireland, and Luxembourg round out the top 10.
At the other end of the spectrum, most of the lowest-ranking nations are African, Latin American, or former communist states. The bottom five nations are Venezuela, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar. However, there are other nations for which data are not available, such as North Korea and Cuba. Botswana's ranking of 18th is by far the best among continental sub-Saharan African nations. Chile, with the best record in Latin America, was tied with four other nations, including Germany, at 22nd.
The rankings of other large economies are: Japan and Italy, 36th; France, 44th; Mexico, 58th; India, 68th; Brazil, 74th; China, 90th; and Russia, 114th.
cato.org |
