LITHUANIA IMPROVES ITS ECONOMIC FREEDOM SCORE BY 5 SPOTS
Lithuania is ranked 24th freest economy among 179 countries in the newest Index of Economic Freedom by Heritage Foundation, at www.heritage.org.
Lithuania's economic freedom score is 71.3, moving the country by 5 spots up, comparing to its rank (29) last year. Lithuania's overall score is well above the world and regional averages. Also, Lithuania has improved its ranking on the European list - the country is by 2 spots up and is ranked 13th among 43 countries in Europe.Lithuania improved scores in 6 of the 10 economic freedoms, namely trade freedom, fiscal freedom, monetary freedom, investment freedom, property rights and freedom from corruption.
"The Lithuanian economy has been gradually recovering from a sharp economic contraction in 2009. The country's overall transition to greater economic freedom has been facilitated by structural reforms and an increasingly vibrant private sector that accounts for about 80 % of GDP. As reflected in relatively high scores for fiscal and business freedom, competitive taxation and an efficient regulatory system have contributed to a more vibrant economy." - analysts at Heritage Foundation comment on Lithuania's performance at www.heritage.org.
Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia are the top 3 freest markets for the second time running.
For more details on Lithuania's assessment visit http://www.heritage.org/index/country/lithuania
