Estonia Climbs to 13th in Global Economic Freedom Ranking

In the annual Index of Economic Freedom published today, Estonia's economy gained three notches compared to last year, reaching 13th place.
An overall score of 75.3 out of 100 put Estonia fourth among European countries, behind Switzerland, Denmark and Ireland.

"Its overall score is 2.1 points higher than last year, driven by notable improvements in the management of government spending, property rights and business freedom," the assessment read.

The index, compiled by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation, covered 177 countries, taking into account the stability of prices, property rights, corruption, employee rights, government spending and taxes.

Of Estonia's nearest neighbors, Finland ranked the highest at 16th, while Latvia was 55th and Russia came in at 139th, sandwiched between Guinea-Bissau and Vietnam.

Hong Kong and Singapore were rated as having the most and second-most economic freedom, respectively, just as they have done every year since 1995, when the rankings were begun. They were followed by Australia and New Zealand.

Zimbabwe, Cuba and North Korea bottomed out the list.