{
  "id": 12347824,
  "title": "Hong Kong remains world’s freest economy as Switzerland overtakes Singapore",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/hong-kong-remains-worlds-freest-economy-as-switzerland-overtakes-12347824",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-06T09:36:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3369922/hong-kong-remains-worlds-freest-economy-switzerland-overtakes-singapore"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "According to the Fraser Institute's latest report on economic freedom, Hong Kong continues to be recognized as the world's freest economy, despite a decline in its score in recent years. The 2026 Economic Freedom of the World report, published on Tuesday, places Switzerland in second place, overtaking Singapore and pushing the city-state down to third in the rankings. The report, based on data from 2024, assessed Hong Kong as the most economically free jurisdiction among 165 global jurisdictions. Notable rankings among major economies include Britain at 13th, Japan at 17th, India at 86th, and mainland China at 108th. The report evaluated various factors, such as regulation, openness to international trade, the size of government, legal systems, property rights, and the stability of currency. Furthermore, it examined people's freedom to make economic decisions in their respective countries or cities. Matthew Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report, attributed the global decline in economic freedom during the pandemic to increased regulations, higher trade barriers, higher government spending and taxes, and the printing of money to cover such expenditures. The 10 countries ranked lowest in the report were Congo, Egypt, Malawi, Algeria, Iran, Myanmar, Libya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
        "title": "Hong Kong remains world’s freest economy as Switzerland overtakes Singapore",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/hong-kong-remains-worlds-freest-economy-as-switzerland-overtakes",
        "published": "2026-10-06T09:36:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}