Which country has the highest Economic Freedom Score?

Hong Kong has the highest Economic Freedom Score in 2023, at 8.55, followed by Singapore (8.5) and New Zealand (8.33).

Which country has the lowest Economic Freedom Score?

Venezuela has the lowest Economic Freedom Score in 2023, at 3.11.

What is the median Economic Freedom Score across countries?

The median is 6.65 across the 163 countries with data in 2023.

Where does this market economy countries data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Human Freedom Index - Cato Institute; The Human Freedom Index 2021 - Fraser Institute; Economic Freedom of the World: 2019 Annual Report; What Is a Market Economy? - Investopedia.

Country rankings

Market Economy Countries

Name: Market Economy Countries
Creator: Rankodex

Hong Kong has the highest Economic Freedom Score in 2023 (8.55), followed by Singapore (8.5) and New Zealand (8.33). Venezuela has the lowest (3.11).

Economics182 countries · 3 metricsUpdated Oct 12, 2025Original page

5 sources

Showing

Year

163 of 235 countries

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Economic Freedom Score, 2023

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 163 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

6.65

Middle half 5.89 – 7.46

Average

6.57

163 countries

Highest

8.55

Hong Kong

Lowest

3.11

Venezuela

Over time · 2000–2023

The top 5 in 2023, against the median.

Median of all countries
Hong Kong
Singapore
New Zealand
Switzerland
United States

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

182 countries · # = rank by Economic Freedom Score

#
1	Hong Kong	Yes	8.55	—
2	Singapore	Yes	8.5	83.9
3	New Zealand	Yes	8.33	78.9
4	Switzerland	Yes	8.28	83.8
5	United States	Yes	8.1	70.6
6	Ireland	Yes	8.05	82.0
7	Australia	Yes	8.03	74.8
7	Taiwan	Yes	8.03	80.7
9	Denmark	Yes	8.02	77.6
10	Netherlands	Borderline	7.97	78.0
11	Canada	Borderline	7.92	73.7
11	Luxembourg	Borderline	7.92	78.4
13	United Kingdom	Borderline	7.88	69.9
14	Costa Rica	Borderline	7.85	66.5
15	Germany	Borderline	7.84	73.7
15	Finland	Borderline	7.84	77.1
17	Japan	Borderline	7.83	69.3
18	Malta	Borderline	7.82	67.5
19	Estonia	Borderline	7.76	78.6
20	Cyprus	Borderline	7.75	72.3
21	Spain	Borderline	7.73	65.0
21	Mauritius	Borderline	7.73	70.6
23	Portugal	Borderline	7.71	69.5
23	Iceland	Borderline	7.71	72.2
25	Georgia	Borderline	7.69	68.7
26	Chile	Borderline	7.65	71.1
27	Panama	Borderline	7.64	63.8
28	Guatemala	Borderline	7.62	62.7
29	Czechia	Borderline	7.61	71.9
30	Latvia	Borderline	7.6	72.8
31	Belgium	Borderline	7.58	67.1
31	Seychelles	Borderline	7.58	59.5
33	Austria	Borderline	7.57	71.1
33	Lithuania	Borderline	7.57	72.2
35	Malaysia	Borderline	7.56	67.3
35	Sweden	Borderline	7.56	77.5
35	Albania	Borderline	7.56	65.3
38	South Korea	Borderline	7.53	73.7
39	Jordan	No	7.46	58.8
39	Israel	No	7.46	68.9
39	Armenia	No	7.46	65.1
39	Jamaica	No	7.46	68.1
43	Bahrain	No	7.41	62.5
44	France	No	7.39	63.6
44	Cape Verde	No	7.39	—
46	Italy	No	7.38	62.3
47	Dominican Republic	No	7.37	62.6
48	Norway	No	7.35	76.9
49	Slovakia	No	7.33	69.0
50	Romania	No	7.32	64.5
51	Peru	No	7.3	66.5
52	United Arab Emirates	No	7.25	70.9
53	Uruguay	No	7.16	70.2
53	Montenegro	No	7.16	60.9
55	Greece	No	7.15	56.9
56	Bulgaria	No	7.13	69.3
57	Thailand	No	7.1	60.6
58	El Salvador	No	7.09	56.0
58	Brunei	No	7.09	65.7
60	Paraguay	No	7.08	61.0
61	Hungary	No	7.07	64.1
62	Philippines	No	7.05	59.3
63	Slovenia	No	7	68.5
64	Honduras	No	6.99	58.7
65	Indonesia	No	6.96	63.5
66	Saudi Arabia	No	6.95	58.3
67	Croatia	No	6.94	66.4
68	Gambia	No	6.93	57.9
69	Botswana	No	6.92	64.9
70	Mexico	No	6.91	63.2
71	Bahamas	No	6.9	62.6
72	Uganda	No	6.87	51.4
73	Kazakhstan	No	6.84	62.1
73	Bhutan	No	6.84	59.0
75	Mongolia	No	6.83	61.7
76	Poland	No	6.8	67.7
77	Cambodia	No	6.79	56.5
78	North Macedonia	No	6.76	63.7
78	Barbados	No	6.76	69.8
80	Qatar	No	6.71	68.6
81	Kenya	No	6.68	52.5
82	Trinidad and Tobago	No	6.65	59.5
83	South Africa	No	6.61	55.7
83	Oman	No	6.61	58.5
85	India	No	6.58	52.9
86	Brazil	No	6.57	53.5
87	Kyrgyzstan	No	6.56	55.8
87	Serbia	No	6.56	63.5
89	Nepal	No	6.54	51.4
90	Kuwait	No	6.49	56.7
91	Nicaragua	No	6.43	54.9
92	Bosnia and Herzegovina	No	6.4	62.9
93	Colombia	No	6.38	63.1
93	Morocco	No	6.38	58.4
93	Namibia	No	6.38	57.7
96	Rwanda	No	6.37	52.2
97	Benin	No	6.33	59.8
97	Tajikistan	No	6.33	50.6
99	Ecuador	No	6.32	55.0
100	Somalia	No	6.28	—
101	Tanzania	No	6.27	60.0
101	Burkina Faso	No	6.27	56.2
103	Zambia	No	6.24	47.8
104	Vietnam	No	6.21	61.8
104	Mozambique	No	6.21	52.5
106	Senegal	No	6.15	57.7
107	China	No	6.13	48.3
108	Liberia	No	6.12	49.6
109	Djibouti	No	6.1	56.1
110	Papua New Guinea	No	6.09	51.7
110	Mauritania	No	6.09	55.3
112	Ivory Coast	No	6.08	60.4
112	Fiji	No	6.08	58.0
114	Togo	No	6.07	55.3
115	Bolivia	No	6.05	43.4
116	Madagascar	No	6.02	58.9
117	Haiti	No	6.01	49.9
118	Belize	No	5.99	59.8
119	Timor-Leste	No	5.97	—
120	Lesotho	No	5.96	51.6
121	Belarus	No	5.92	51.0
122	Nigeria	No	5.89	53.9
123	Tunisia	No	5.88	52.9
124	Niger	No	5.87	53.7
124	Guinea	No	5.87	53.2
126	Bangladesh	No	5.83	54.4
127	Ghana	No	5.81	58.0
127	Sri Lanka	No	5.81	52.2
129	Mali	No	5.8	54.5
129	Azerbaijan	No	5.8	61.4
131	Laos	No	5.65	50.3
132	Cameroon	No	5.64	51.9
133	Pakistan	No	5.62	49.4
134	Sierra Leone	No	5.6	50.2
135	Comoros	No	5.51	53.5
136	Suriname	No	5.5	46.1
137	Guyana	No	5.47	56.9
138	Turkey	No	5.44	56.9
139	Eswatini	No	5.39	54.9
140	Iraq	No	5.37	—
141	Guinea-Bissau	No	5.32	—
142	Ukraine	No	5.24	—
142	Lebanon	No	5.24	45.6
142	Gabon	No	5.24	56.1
145	Angola	No	5.16	53.0
146	Malawi	No	5.14	52.8
147	Russia	No	5.09	53.8
148	Egypt	No	5.08	49.6
148	Yemen	No	5.08	—
150	DR Congo	No	5.03	47.9
151	Ethiopia	No	5.01	48.3
151	Burundi	No	5.01	41.9
153	Central African Republic	No	4.96	43.8
154	Chad	No	4.84	52.0
155	Libya	No	4.8	—
156	Syria	No	4.62	—
157	Argentina	No	4.48	51.0
158	Myanmar	No	4.46	—
159	Iran	No	4.37	42.2
160	Algeria	No	4.24	43.2
161	Sudan	No	4	32.8
162	Zimbabwe	No	3.91	39.0
163	Venezuela	No	3.11	25.8
—	Uzbekistan	—	—	56.5
—	North Korea	—	—	2.9
—	Cuba	—	—	24.3
—	Turkmenistan	—	—	46.5
—	Republic of the Congo	No	—	48.1
—	Eritrea	—	—	39.5
—	Moldova	No	—	58.5
—	Equatorial Guinea	—	—	48.3
—	Solomon Islands	—	—	56.9
—	Maldives	—	—	46.6
—	Vanuatu	—	—	62.1
—	Sao Tome and Principe	—	—	61.5
—	Samoa	—	—	68.3
—	Saint Lucia	—	—	60.7
—	Kiribati	—	—	58.8
—	Micronesia	—	—	62.6
—	Tonga	—	—	60.0
—	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	—	—	63.5
—	Dominica	—	—	59.7

What correlates with Economic Freedom Score (2023)?

Pearson r against 1,502 other country metrics sharing at least 98 countries, 1 near-identical series hidden. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Economic Freedom Score tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

Political Risk Index (PRI)Political Risk Index by Country
r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 98
Plot
LP Investment EnvironmentLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.83 · very strong · n = 157
Plot
Human Freedom IndexFreedom Index by Country
r = +0.83 · very strong · n = 163
Plot
Legatum Prosperity RankLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.81 · very strong · n = 157
Plot
LP Enterprise ConditionsLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.81 · very strong · n = 157
Plot
LP GovernanceLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.79 · very strong · n = 157
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Economic Freedom Score tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

Fragile States Index
r = −0.77 · very strong · n = 161
Plot
Failed States IndexFailed States
r = −0.77 · very strong · n = 160
Plot
Vulnerability ScoreGlobal Slavery Index by Country
r = −0.76 · very strong · n = 148
Plot
Vulnerability Score (lower is better)Countries that Still Have Slavery
r = −0.76 · very strong · n = 149
Plot
EconomyFailed States
r = −0.75 · very strong · n = 160
Plot
State LegitimacyFailed States
r = −0.70 · strong · n = 160
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Economic Freedom Score?: Hong Kong has the highest Economic Freedom Score in 2023, at 8.55, followed by Singapore (8.5) and New Zealand (8.33).
Which country has the lowest Economic Freedom Score?: Venezuela has the lowest Economic Freedom Score in 2023, at 3.11.
What is the median Economic Freedom Score across countries?: The median is 6.65 across the 163 countries with data in 2023.
Where does this market economy countries data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Human Freedom Index - Cato Institute; The Human Freedom Index 2021 - Fraser Institute; Economic Freedom of the World: 2019 Annual Report; What Is a Market Economy? - Investopedia.

Higher together

Opposite directions

Quick answers

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