Despite increasing political pressure from Beijing, Hong Kong is still the world's freest economy – a position it has held for the past 25 years.
Hong Kong has beat out Singapore in the Heritage Foundation's 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, bringing its stay atop the list to 25 years – an impressive achievement considering the increasing political pressure Beijing is placing on the autonomous territory.
The Index covers 12 freedoms – from property rights to financial freedom – in 186 countries. Hong Kong's «freedom score» of 90.2 points is unchanged from the year before. A decline in judicial effectiveness was offset by improvements in trade freedom, monetary freedom, and government integrity.
«A high-quality legal framework provides effective protection of property rights and strongly supports the rule of law. There is little tolerance for corruption, and a high degree of transparency enhances government integrity. Regulatory efficiency and openness to global commerce undergird a vibrant entrepreneurial climes,» Heritage Foundation said.
Singapore Still Trailing
Singapore kept its position as second overall with a score of 89.4 points – an improvement of 0.6 from 2018. It benefitted from improvements in trade freedom and government integrity improving, which outpaced modest decreases in labor freedom and property rights scores.
The foundation noted that the Singapore government «continued to promote economic growth through an active industrial policy that targets fiscal incentives, increases public investment, promotes the development of skill sets attractive to foreign investors, and focuses on economic diversification.»
Switzerland Tops Europe
In fourth place overall, Switzerland was Europe's freest economy, with a score of 81.9 points. It narrowly beat Australia (5th overall, 80.9), but trailed New Zealand (3rd, 84.4) by a large margin. Its overall score improved by 0.2 points, with a significant improvement in government integrity offsetting modestly lower scores for trade freedom and labor freedom.
Global Average Falls
Eighty-one countries saw improved scores, while 92 registered decreases. The global average fell by 0.3 points to 60.8, though Heritage Foundation noted that the overall average score is still the third-highest on record.
The Index groups the world’s countries into five regions: the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East/North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Regionally, Asia-Pacific (60.6) trailed Europe (68.6) considerably. Middle East and North Africa had an average of 61.3 points, the Americas averaged 59.6, and Sub-Saharan Africa averaged 54.2.
Of the 186 countries ranked in the index, six are classified as «free» (scores of 80 points and above), 88 are «mostly free» (70–79.9) or «moderately free». The foundation noted the high number of economically unfree countries: 64 are considered «mostly unfree» (50–59.9) while 22 countries are «repressed» (below 50).
