2008 Top 10 Freest Economies : Heritage Foundation Report

The Heritage Foundation, along with the Wall Street Journal, has released their 2008 Index of Economic

Freedom, which grades countries based on 10 benchmarks: Business Freedom, Trade Freedom, Fiscal Freedom, Government Size, Monetary Freedom, Investment Freedom, Financial Freedom, Property Rights, Freedom from Corruption, and Labour Freedom. Here’s a link to the top 10 freest economies in the world:

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Ireland
4. Australia
5. United States
6. New Zealand
7. Canada
8. Chile
9. Switzerland
10. United Kingdom

No surprise to see Hong Kong and Singapore top the list, where they have now been 1 and 2 for 3 years in a row. Not surprised either, but disappointed, to see the United States score so low in regards to Fiscal Freedom and Government Size. The usual pack of tin-pot dictatorships and hardcore socialist wastelands brought up the worst 5 countries: North Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Libya, and Burma.

You can access the entire list here. For the Americas, the United States ranked 1st with Canada a close 2nd. For North Africa and the Middle East it was Bahrain followed by Kuwait. For Sub-Saharan Africa it was Mauritius followed by Botswana.