Hong Kong remains world’s freest economy as Switzerland overtakes Singapore
Hong Kong has retained its status as the world’s freest economy in the latest annual ranking by a top Canadian think tank, although its score has declined in recent years. Switzerland overtook Singapore to claim second place, pushing the city state down to third in the rankings released on Tuesday by the Fraser Institute. The 2026 Economic Freedom of the World report, compiled by the…
The Fraser Institute's latest rankings for 2026 have reaffirmed Hong Kong's position as the world's freest economy, although its rating has worsened in recent years. Switzerland took the second place spot from Singapore, relegating the city-state to third in the rankings. The 2026 Economic Freedom of the World report, based on data from 2024, marked Hong Kong's first retreat from the top position since 2023, after having held it in 2024 and 2025.
Despite a significant decrease in economic freedom since 2018, Hong Kong remained the most economically free jurisdiction globally in 2024, according to the think tank. Singapore was followed by New Zealand and the United States in the rankings. Among other notable economies, Britain ranked 13th, Japan 17th, India 86th, and mainland China 108th.
The assessment considered factors such as regulation, openness to international trade, government size, legal system, property rights, and economic decision-making freedom for individuals. Matthew Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report, noted that global economic freedom suffered during the pandemic due to increased regulations, expanded trade barriers, higher government spending and taxes, and the printing of money to finance these expenditures.
The ten lowest-ranked countries included Congo, Egypt, Malawi, Algeria, Iran, Myanmar, Libya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
