India lags behind Bhutan (78), Nepal (108) and Sri Lanka (111) but rises above China (113), Bangladesh (121) and Pakistan (133). Hong Kong again tops the index, continuing its streak of number one rankings, followed by Singapore and New Zealand.

India slips by 10 positions and ranks 112th amongst 159 countries and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2016 Annual Report, released worldwide today by Centre for Civil Society in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute.

Neighboring countries- Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka ranked 78th, 108th and 111th respectively in the report gaining an edge over India. On the other hand, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan staggeringly lagged behind India positioned at 113th, 121st and 133th ranks respectively. Hong Kong has again emerged at the first position this year.

India’s leading public policy think tank, Centre for Civil Society has published the report in collaboration with Canada’s Fraser Institute.

The report is based on data from 2014 (the most recent year of available comparable data) and measures the economic freedom (size of government, legal system and property rights, sound money, freedom to trade internationally and regulation) by analysing the policies and institutions of all159 countries and territories. India has fared badly in all categories i.e. legal system and property rights (86), sound money (130), freedom to trade internationally (144) and regulation (132) except the size of the government (8).

While releasing the World Economic Freedom Index, Dr. Parth Shah, Founder and President, Centre for Civil Society said, “The economic freedom index of a country is directly proportional to the freedom and opportunities available to its citizens. People living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties, and longer lives. On the contrary, countries at the lower levels of freedom index tend to suppress its citizens’ freedom and rights.”

Hong Kong has the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Georgia, Ireland, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates, Australia, and United Kingdom at 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th positions respectively. Australia and the United Kingdom have tied for the 10th position this year.

The 10 lowest-ranked countries are: Iran, Algeria, Chad, Guinea, Angola, Central African Republic, Argentina, Republic of Congo, Libya and lastly Venezuela. Other notable countries include the United States (16), Germany (30), Japan (40), France (57) and Russia (102).

This news was based on Press release issued by Centre for Civil Society and has been published by India Info Line, City Air News, Governance Now and Meri News.