Hong Kong has beaten Singapore to regain its status as the world’s freest economy in a top Canadian think tank’s latest international league table released on Wednesday. Hong Kong had lost the top spot for the first time last year.
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The 2024 “Economic Freedom of the World” report, compiled by the Fraser Institute, a public policy research organisation headquartered in Vancouver, ranked Hong Kong No 1 among 165 jurisdictions. Hong Kong had a score of 8.58, followed by Singapore with 8.55.
Switzerland was ranked third with a score of 8.43, followed by New Zealand and the United States, with 8.39 and 8.09, respectively.
The rankings of other major economies include Japan at No 11, Britain at No 12, Taiwan at No 19, India at No 84 and mainland China at 104.
The report examined regulation, openness to international trade, the size of government, the legal system and property rights, and the stability of currency. The report also considered the freedom of people to make economic decisions in their countries or cities, with the 2024 rankings based on statistics from 2022.
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Among the five areas of assessment, Hong Kong ranked first in “freedom to trade internationally” and “regulation” in the 2024 report. It placed third globally for “sound money”, 21st for “legal system and property rights” and 45th in “size of government”.
