Nepal ranks 108th out of 159 countries and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2016 Annual Report, released today by Samriddhi Foundation in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute. Last year, Nepal ranked 106th. Samriddhi Foundation is releasing the report in Nepal for the ninth consecutive year.
According to research in top peer-reviewed academic journals, people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties, and longer lives. For example, countries in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per-capita GDP of US$41,228 in 2014, compared to US$5,471 for bottom quartile nations. Moreover, the average income in 2014 of the poorest 10 per cent in the most economically free countries (US$11,283) dwarfed the overall average income in the least free countries (US$5,471). And life expectancy is 80.4 years in the top quartile countries compared to 64 years in the bottom quartile.
“Economic freedom leads to prosperity and a higher quality of life, while the lowest-ranked countries are usually burdened by oppressive regimes that limit the freedom and opportunity of their citizens,” said Fred McMahon, Dr. Michael A. Walker Research Chair in Economic Freedom with the Fraser Institute.
Nepal’s Ranking
With an overall score of 6.54 (in a scale of 1 to 10 where a higher value indicates a higher level of economic freedom), Nepal ranked 108th out of 159 jurisdictions in this year’s index. With this, Nepal has dropped two places down in the global ranking. Last year, Nepal ranked 106th out of 157 jurisdictions with a score of 6.56.
Nepal scores in key components of economic freedom are:
- Size of government: dropped to 7.89 from 8.72 in the last year’s report
- Legal system and property rights: climbed to 4.79 from 4.33
- Access to sound money: climbed to 6.43 from 6.42
- Freedom to trade internationally: climbed to 6.72 from 6.47
- Regulation of credit, labour and business: climbed to 6.87 from 6.85
International Rankings
Hong Kong (9.03) again tops the index, continuing its streak of number one rankings, followed by Singapore (8.71), New Zealand (8.35), Switzerland (8.25), Canada (7.98), Georgia (7.98), Ireland (7.98), Mauritius (7.98), and United Arab Emirates (7.98). Australia and the United Kingdom tied for 10th with a score of 7.93.
The 10 lowest-ranked countries are: Iran, Algeria, Chad, Guinea, Angola, Central African Republic, Argentina, Republic of Congo, Libya and lastly Venezuela. Some despotic countries such as North Korea and Cuba can’t be ranked due to lack of data.
Other notable rankings include Germany (7.55), Japan (7.42), France (7.30), Russia (6.66), India (6.50), China (6.45) and Brazil (6.27).
About the Economic Freedom Index
The Fraser Institute produces the annual Economic Freedom of the World report in cooperation with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent research and educational institutes in nearly 100 nations and territories. Samriddhi Foundation is member of the Economic Freedom Network and is a co-publisher of the report in Nepal. The Economic Freedom of the World Report is world’s premier measurement of economic freedom, measuring and ranking countries in five areas: size of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation of credit, labour and business.
Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries support economic freedom. This year’s publication ranks 159 countries and territories. The report also updates data in earlier reports in instances where data has been revised.
It is based on data from 2014 (the most recent year of available comparable data) and measures the economic freedom by analysing the policies and institutions of 159 countries and territories.
See the full report at www.freetheworld.com.
Check out our Economic Freedom of the World video here.