NEWS RELEASE
Economic freedom rises slightly worldwide while United States sinks to historic low; China ranked 107 overall 

September 18, 2012
For Immediate Release

Beijing, China ― CHINA is ranked 107 out of 144 countries included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report, released today by UNIRULE.
Last year, China ranked 103.

Globally, the average economic freedom score rose slightly to 6.83 in 2010, the most recent year available, after plummeting to its lowest level in nearly three decades with a score of 6.79 in 2009.
“Governments around the world embraced heavy-handed regulation and extensive spending in response to the American and European debt crises, reducing economic freedom in the short term and prosperity over the long term,” said Feng Xingyuan.
“But the slight increase in this year’s worldwide economic freedom score is encouraging. Impressively, all five continents are represented in the global top 10.”
Hong Kong again topped the rankings of 144 countries, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Australia and Canada tied for fifth overall.
The United States, long considered a champion of economic freedom among large industrial nations, continues its protracted decline in the global rankings. This year, the U.S. plunged to its lowest-ever ranking of 18th, down from 10th in 2008 and second overall in 2002. Much of this decline is a result of higher spending and borrowing on the part of the U.S. government.
Venezuela has the lowest level of economic freedom among the 144 jurisdictions measured. Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Republic of Congo, and Angola round out the bottom five nations.
Research shows that people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, higher levels of political and civil liberties, and longer life expectancies.
“Sadly, the bottom-ranked countries offer a significantly lower quality of life, reduced prosperity, and limited opportunities for growth,” said Feng Xingyuan.
The annual peer-reviewed Economic Freedom of the World report is produced by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank, in cooperation with independent institutes in 90 nations and territories.
The Economic Freedom of the World report is the premier measurement of economic freedom, using 42 distinct variables to create an index ranking 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. Economic freedom is measured in five different areas: (1) size of government, (2) legal structure and security of property rights, (3) access to sound money, (4) freedom to trade internationally, and (5) regulation of credit, labor, and business. The full report is available at www.freetheworld.com.
CHINA scores in key components of economic freedom (from 1 to 10 where a higher value indicates a higher level of economic freedom):