ARMENIA SCORES HIGHEST AMONG CIS ON ECONOMIC FREEDOM INDEX

WASHINGTON, January 7 (Noyan Tapan). The Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA), in letters sent on January 5 to Members of
Congress, Administration officials, think tanks, the media, and the
broader Washington, DC foreign policy community, welcomed Armenia’s
high rating from the Index of Economic Freedom, prepared jointly by
the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. The Index
measures 161 countries against 50 variables divided into 10 factors of
economic freedom. Armenia received a 2.58 rating and was ranked 42nd
overall – ahead of both France and South Korea. Armenia’s scores
places it, by a considerable margin, as the highest scoring nation
among the Commonwealth of Independent States. Within the Caucasus,
Armenia was listed as the only “Mostly Free” nation. Georgia ranked
100th overall with a score of 3.34, and Azerbaijan came in at 103rd
with a score of 3.38. Turkey continued to slip on economic freedoms,
coming in with a score of 3.36 and a ranking of 112th overall. Lower
scores on the Index’s five-point scale are more desirable. “Armenia’s
strong economic growth and steady progress in each of the ten areas
weighed by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal are
reflected in the expansion of U.S.-Armenia economic relations,” said
ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. “We look forward to helping further
expand these commercial ties and to building on the passage of
Permanent Normal Trade Relations legislation – spearheaded last year
by Congressman Joe Knollenberg and Senator Mitch McConnell – by ending
double-taxation, securing a Social Security Agreement, and paving the
way toward free trade between the United States and Armenia.”
Armenia’s ratings in each of the ten factors covered by the Index are
provided below (Lower scores are more desirable): Trade: 2.0 Fiscal
Burden: 2.3 Gov. Intervention: 2.5 Monetary Policy: 2.0 For.
Investment: 2.0 Banking: 1.0 Wages & Prices: 3.0 Property Rights: 3.0
Regulation: 4.0 Informal Market: 4.0 According to the Index, Armenia
has made steady progress on economic freedom over the past
decade. Below find Armenia’s past scores: 2005: 2.58 2004: 2.63 2003:
2.59 2002: 2.78 2001: 3.03 2000: 3.21 1999: 3.50 1998: 3.50 1997: 3.50
1996: 3.69