2004 Index of Economic Freedom
December 2004
By Faye Mallett
The Index of Economic Freedom is published annually by The
Heritage Foundation, a Washington thinktank and The
Wall Street Journal, a leading
international business daily.
The index bases its conclusions on the status of economic freedom
based upon a country’s ranking in the following data:
Trade Policy:
Non-Tariff Barriers, Weighted Average Tariff Rate and Corruption in
the
customs service
Fiscal Burden of Government:
Top marginal income and corporate tax rates and Year-to-year
change
in government expenditures
Government Intervention in the Economy:
Government consumption, ownership, revenues and economic
output produced
by the government
Capital Flows and Foreign Investment:
Equal treatment under the law for both foreign and domestic companies
Banking & Finance:
Government ownership and regulations of financial earnings
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Wages & Prices:
Minimum wage laws and government price controls
Property Rights:
Legally granted and protected private property
Regulation:
Licensing requirements to operate a business and regulations that
impose a burden on business
Informal Market:
Services supplied on the informal market (Ie. Intellectual property,
agricultural production, manufacturing, labour and transportation).
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Free |
Mostly Free |
Mostly Unfree |
Repressed |
Hong Kong |
Iceland |
Senegal |
Cuba |
Singapore |
Germany |
Macedonia |
Belarus |
New Zealand |
Netherlands |
The Phillipines |
Tajikistan |
Luxembourg |
Austria |
Saudi Arabia |
Venezuela |
Ireland |
Bahrain |
Fiji |
Iran |
Estonia |
Belgium |
Sri Lanka |
Uzbekistan |
United Kingdom |
Lithuania |
Bulgaria |
Turkmenistan |
Denmark |
El Salvador |
Moldova |
Laos |
Switzerland |
Bahamas |
Albania |
Burma |
United States |
Italy |
Brazil |
Zimbabwe |
Australia |
Spain |
Croatia |
Libya |
Sweden |
Norway |
Colombia |
North Korea |
Chile |
Israel |
Guyana |
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Cyprus |
Latvia |
Lebanon |
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Finland |
Portugal |
Madagascar |
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Canada |
Czech Republic |
Guatemala |
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Barbados |
Malaysia |
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Taiwan |
Ivory Coast |
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The Slovak Republic |
Swaziland |
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Trinidad and Tobago |
Georgia |
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Malta |
Djibouti |
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Japan |
Guinea |
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Botswana
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Kenya |
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Uruquay |
Burkina Faso |
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Bolivia |
Egypt |
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Hungary |
Mozambique |
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United Arab Emirates |
Tanzania |
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Armenia |
Bosnia |
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France |
Algeria
Ethiopia
Mali
Rwanda
The Kyrgyz Republic
Central African Republic
Azerbaijan
Paraguay |
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Belize |
Turkey |
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SouthKorea
Kuwait
UgandaCosta Rica
Jordan
Slovenia
South Africa |
Pakistan
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Greece |
Gabon |
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Oman |
Niger |
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Jamaica |
Benin |
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Poland |
Malawi |
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Panama |
Russia |
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Peru |
Argentina |
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Cape Verde |
Ukraine |
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Qatar |
Lesotho |
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Thailand |
Zambia |
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Cambodia |
Dominican Republic |
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Mexico |
Honduras |
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Mongolia |
India |
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Morocco |
Nepal |
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Mauritania |
Chad |
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Nicaragua |
The Gambia |
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Tunisia |
Ecuador |
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Namibia |
Cameroon |
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Mauritius |
China
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Romania |
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Equatorial Guinea |
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Bangladesh |
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Kazakhstan |
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Yemen |
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Sierra Leone |
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Togo |
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Indonesia |
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Haiti |
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Syria |
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Guinea Bissau |
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Vietnam |
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Nigeria |
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Suriname |
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