ECONOMIC FREEDOM IN LITHUANIA RANKED 33RD
Lithuania's economic freedom score is up from 35 in 2009 to 33 in the latest Economic Freedom of the World: 2010 Annual Report by the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading public policy think-tank, analyzing 141 countries of the world. Lithuania got an overall evaluation score of 7.03 out of maximum 10 points.
This year's Fraser Institute's report shows that economic freedom experienced its first global downturn in a quarter century, with the average score falling to 6.67 in 2008 (the most recent year for which data is available) from 6.74 in 2007. Of the 123 countries with economic freedom rankings dating back to 1980, 88 (71.5 %) saw their rankings decrease while only 35 (28.5 %) recorded increases, Lithuania among them.
"From 1980 to 2008, there was a gradual but steady upward movement in economic freedom worldwide. But, in response to the recession of 2008, many countries opted for perverse credit expansion and regulatory policies, damaging economic freedom and hindering future growth," Fred McMahon, Fraser Institute vice-president of international policy research, said.
Hong Kong maintains the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 9.05 out of 10. The other top scorers are Singapore (8.70), New Zealand (8.27), Switzerland (8.08), Chile (8.03), the United States (7.96), Canada (7.95), Australia (7.90), Mauritius (7.82), and the United Kingdom (7.81).
Zimbabwe maintains the lowest level of economic freedom among the 141 jurisdictions analyzed. Myanmar, Angola, and Venezuela round out the bottom four nations.
The annual peer-reviewed economic freedom report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking 141 countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property.
