2024 Index of Economic Freedom. Singapore led the Index of Economic Freedom in 2024, with an index score of 83.5 out of 100. Switzerland, Ireland, Taiwan, and Luxembourg rounded out the top five.
Singapore continues to be the world's freest economy, demonstrating a consistently high level of economic resilience and prosperity. Switzerland is the world's second freest economy, followed by Ireland.
In first place, as the freest country in the world, we have Switzerland. With its majestic alps and serene lakes, this small European country is a haven of freedom. Switzerland's political structure is a marvel in itself, rooted in a system of direct democracy and federalism.
No country practices pure capitalism without any government intervention. Even the most capitalist nations have some degree of regulation and public services. The United States, often associated with capitalism, has a mixed economy with both private enterprise and government involvement.
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Singapore is often considered the most capitalist country in the world. It ranks first on the Index of Economic Freedom due to its low tax rates, minimal government intervention, and strong protection of private property. Singapore's economy is built on free-market principles and global trade competitiveness.
Private ownership of the means of production, the modern definition of capitalism, has characterized the UK market economy since the 16th century, though antecedents existed in earlier times and there were flourishing pockets of capitalism during the later Middle Ages.
According to the Freedom House Freedom Index from 2024, Turkmenistan and South Sudan were the two least free countries in the world that year. The index measures the level of political rights and civil liberties in a country.
While U.S. politicians tend to be highly committed to free market values, the government regularly intervenes in the nation's economic affairs. Thus, the U.S. has a mixed economy.
According to the 2025 World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row. It's followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands in the annual survey released on Thursday, March 20, 2025, that ranks countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
The best scores in 2023 were recorded in Northern Europe with Sweden, Norway and Finland leading the way for freedom with scores of 100. The top-five was rounded off by New Zealand and Canada with the U.S. trailing with a score of 83.
The following 44 countries were still listed as least developed countries by the UN as of December 2024: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, ...
While capitalism helps propel innovation and prosperity in modern society, it can also create inequalities and contribute to market failures. Capitalism is, in many ways, an opposite of communism, which is a system that is controlled by the government.
Japan chose to be a free and democratic nation following its tragic experiences in World War II. Liberal democracy is now firmly rooted in Japan, and the Japanese people enjoy freedom, peace, and prosperity.
The United Kingdom has a highly efficient and strong social security system, which comprises roughly 24.5% of GDP. The service sector dominates, contributing 82% of GDP; the financial services industry is particularly important, and London is the second-largest financial centre in the world.
Simply, the manufacturing sector was allowed to become too small – and this had implications for net exports, regional balance and overall economic growth. This decline of manufacturing was made worse during some parts of the period by demand shocks and constraints caused by shifts in macroeconomic policies.
The British Empire became the world's largest economy by nominal GDP in 1870 and was responsible for approximately a quarter of global trade at that time, with trade accounting for about one third of its GDP.
Thomas Watson Jr. drove IBM to undertake the biggest gamble in business history with a revolution no other company of the age could dare– the creation in the 1960s of the IBM System/360, the world's first fully integrated and compatible mainframe computer that laid the foundation for the information technology future.
Examples of countries directly using the term socialist in their names include the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, while a number of countries make references to socialism in their constitutions, but not in their names. These include India and Portugal.
Modern capitalism was born in the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain at the end of the eighteenth century, and was spread throughout western Europe and European offshoots in the 91 J. D. Sachs Page 3 92 OXFORD REVIEW OF ECONOMIC POLICY, VOL. 15, NO. 4 Americas and Oceania in the first half of the nineteenth century ...
Iceland. Ranked number one since 2008, Iceland remains the world's most peaceful nation, leading across all three domains: safety and security, ongoing conflict and militarisation.
In the 2025 index, Switzerland is ranked most free overall, while North Korea is last. Saudi Arabia is ranked most conservative, while Argentina is ranked most progressive.
