HK retains status as world’s freest economy as Switzerland edges out Singapore

Hong Kong has retained its status as the world’s most economically free jurisdiction in the latest annual report released by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank, despite logging a decline in its score in recent years.

In Economic Freedom of the World 2026, the Vancouver-based organization ranked Hong Kong first among 165 jurisdictions. The report uses 2024 data, the latest available comprehensive dataset.

Switzerland placed second, followed by Singapore in third. New Zealand ranked fourth, while the United States finished fifth.

The annual index evaluates jurisdictions across five broad areas: size of government, legal system and property rights, sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation.

Hong Kong posted an overall rating of 8.53 out of 10 and led the world in the "Freedom to Trade Internationally" category.

"Global economic freedom fell during the pandemic as policymakers imposed new regulations, raised barriers to trade, increased government spending and taxes, and then printed money to pay for spending," said Matthew Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report.

Among other major economies, the United Kingdom placed 10th, Japan ranked 13th, Canada 18th, and Germany 19th. India placed 88th, China 110th, and Russia 143rd.

The 10 lowest-ranked jurisdictions in the study were the Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Malawi, Algeria, Iran, Myanmar, Libya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela.

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