This is the 26th edition of Economic Freedom of the World and this year’s publication ranks 165 countries and territories for 2020, the most recent year for which data are available. Global economic freedom declined significantly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The decline affected 146 of 165 jurisdictions in the index and is more than three times larger than the global decline caused by the 2008/2009 financial crisis.

Hong Kong remains in the top position, though its rating fell an additional 0.28 points. Singapore, once again, comes in second. The next highest-scoring nations are Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia, United States, Estonia, Mauritius, and Ireland.

The rankings of other large economies in this year’s index are Japan (12th), Canada (14th), Germany (25th), Italy (44th), France (54th), Mexico (64th), India (89th), Russia (94th), Brazil (114th), and China (116th). The ten lowest‐​rated countries are: Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria, Republic of Congo, Iran, Libya, Argentina, Syria, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and lastly, Venezuela.

Nations in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per capita GDP of $48,251 in 2020, compared to $6,542 for bottom quartile nations (PPP constant 2017, international $). Moreover, the average income of the poorest 10% in the most economically free nations is more than twice the average per capita income in the least free nations. Life expectancy is 80.4 years in the top quartile compared to 66 years in the bottom quartile.

The first Economic Freedom of the World Report, published in 1996, was the result of a decade of research by a team which included several Nobel Laureates and over 60 other leading scholars in a broad range of fields, from economics to political science, and from law to philosophy.