Armenia ranked 52nd in 2015 Index of Economic Freedom
13:31, 28 Jan 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Armenia is ranked 52nd in the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom published
by The Wall Street Journal andThe Heritage Foundation.
According to the report, Armenia’s economic freedom score is 67.1,
making its economy the 52nd freest in the 2015 Index. Its overall
score has declined by 1.8 points from last year, reflecting
considerable deterioration in property rights, labor freedom, and
monetary freedom. This decline was the eighth-largest in the 2015
Index. Armenia is ranked 23rd among the 43 countries in the Europe
region, and its score puts it above the world and regional averages.
Armenia’s transition to a more dynamic and market-oriented economy has
been facilitated by openness to global commerce and by regulatory
reforms designed to encourage entrepreneurial activity. However,
continued efforts, particularly to strengthen the independence of the
judiciary and eradicate corruption, are needed to ensure progress in
long-term economic development.
Although Armenia performs relatively well in most categories compared
to world averages, the historical gains are not fully
institutionalized, and the country’s economic freedom has been on a
five-year downward path. This decline has taken place across six of
the 10 economic freedoms, most notably in labor freedom, freedom from
corruption, and monetary freedom.
Hong Kong tops the list, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Australia
and Switzerland. Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as
follows: Georgia – 22nd, Russia – 143rd, Turkey – 70th, Azerbaijan 85,
Iran – 171st.
The Index covers 10 freedoms – from property rights to
entrepreneurship – in 186 countries. The economic freedom is measured
based on 10 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four
broad categories, or pillars, of economic freedom: Rule of Law
(property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal
freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business
freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade
freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom).
Each of the ten economic freedoms within these categories is graded on
a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall score is derived by averaging
these ten economic freedoms, with equal weight being given to each.