Catherwood LibraryILR School

The United States has slipped out of the top 10 most economically free countries. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, which is administered by the think tank the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, the US now ranks twelfth out of the 178 countries ranked. Scores improved for 114 of the countries and declined for 59, including the United States. The Index of Economic Freedom measures factors such as the ease of creating a new company, the level of taxation, the ability of low earners to become high earners, and the level of cronyism. Under these measures, Hong Kong takes the number one slot, followed by Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, and in fifth place, New Zealand. The least free countries are North Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Eritrea.