Singapore's economy is considered the freest, followed by Switzerland and Ireland, according to the Heritage Foundation's 2022 Index of Economic Freedom.
As of 2023, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Switzerland, New Zealand, and the United States ranked as the world's five most economically free countries in the Cato Institute's Human Freedom Index, making them the world's top 5 market economies in terms of economic freedom.
The UK economy is the seventh largest in the world. The United Kingdom economy is a free market economy. The United Kingdom economy is an open market economy.
The changes in the areas' scores over time are based on a comparison of the same 123 jurisdictions for which we have data in 2000 and 2021. The countries that took the top 10 places, in order, were Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Estonia and Sweden (tied at 5), Iceland, Luxembourg, Finland, and Norway.
Switzerland has retained its top spot in U.S. News & World Report's annual Best Countries rankings, marking the second year in a row and the sixth time overall the central European nation has placed No. 1.
Highest ranking in personal freedoms were Sweden (9.45) and the Netherlands (9.28). In 2020, United States has dropped to rank 17 according to The Human Freedom Index. The Freedom Index does not measure democracy, but it does measure freedom of speech and media, press killings, political imprisonment, etc.
Switzerland (83.8) and Ireland (82.0) top the ranking in Europe. Only Singapore (83.9) scores higher globally. Together with Taiwan (80.7), these 4 countries are the only truly economically free countries in the world. Estonia (78.6) ranks third in Europe.
Businesses are not for profit. Consumers have few choices. Government determines jobs and sets prices of goods and services. Examples: No “pure” Command Economies; North Korea (closest to true Command Economy).
The economy of Luxembourg is largely dependent on the banking, steel, and industrial sectors. Citizens of Luxembourg enjoy the second highest per capita gross domestic product in the world, according to an IMF estimate in 2022.
Guyana registered the world's highest real GDP growth rate in 2022, with its national output 62.4% higher. Driven by its booming oil sector, the economy is set to expand by 27.2% in 2023 and 34.2% next year — consolidating the country as the world's fastest-growing economy in 2024.
Nevertheless, the United Kingdom today has retained global soft power in the 21st century, including a formidable military. The United Kingdom continues to have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council alongside only four other powers, and is one of the nine nuclear powers.
By 2100, India's GDP will be 294 trillion, 36% larger than that of then-second-placed China (Table 4). Nigeria, which currently has the biggest economy in Africa, will have the third-largest economy in the world in 2100. It will be followed by the USA, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.
North Korea, which functions as a single-party state under a totalitarian family dictatorship, is the least free country in the world, according to Freedom House. Corruption and bribery are pervasive at every level of the state and the economy.
