- The annual index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which people in 165 jurisdictions around the globe are allowed to make their own economic choices.
- In the year with the most recent data (2022), the most-economically free jurisdictions were Hong Kong (1st), Singapore (2nd), Switzerland (3rd), New Zealand (4th), the United States (5th), Denmark and Ireland (tied for 6th), Canada (8th), and Australia and Luxembourg (tied for 9th).
- Averaging across all countries, global economic freedom increased from 2000 to 2019, but declined in each of the three years since then, erasing more than a decade of gains.
- Compared with the 25 percent least-economically free places, in the freest places:
- GDP per person is 7.6 times greater;
- the poorest 10 percent earn eight times as much;
- the average person lives 16 years longer and is 40 percent more satisfied with his or her life;
- youth literacy is nearly universal and there is no gap between boys and girls;
- environments are cleaner; and
- people are more tolerant of other genders, minorities, and immigrants.
- Conversely, compared with the top 25 percent, in the 25 percent least economically-free countries:
- the infant mortality rate is nine times greater;
- extreme poverty is 30 times as common;
- two-and-a-half times as many children work;
- corruption is higher; and
- only 78 percent of girls aged 15 to 24 are literate.
Authors
James Gwartney, Robert A. Lawson, Ryan Murphy, Matthew D. Mitchell, Kevin Grier, Robin Grier, Daniel J. Mitchell
- Pages
- 2
- Published in
- Canada
Files
Table of Contents
- Economic Freedom of the World 2024 Annual Report 2
- Copyright 3
- Contents 4
- Executive Summary 6
- Ch 1: Economic Freedom of the World in 2022 14
- THE EFW PANEL DATASET 29
- ECONOMIC FREEDOM AND HUMAN WELL BEING 30
- Ch 2: Economic Freedom or Populist Peril: Lessons for Argentina 40
- Ch 3: Economic Freedom and Pensions 56
- Appendix: Explanatory Notes and Data Sources 74
- Acknowledgments 92
- James Gwartney, 1940–2024 94
- About the Authors 96
- About the Contributors 98
- The Economic Freedom Network 100