Emerging Europe publishes an article entitled Georgia - Emerging Europe's leader in economic freedom.
The article emphasizes that according to the latest data of the Fraser Institute's annual index of world economic freedom, Georgia has been awarded the highest rating, and it is the new leader of Europe.
"Georgia, the country in the South Caucasus, which has for several years also been in the region's leader in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings, is the eighth-most economically free country in the world," reads the article.
According to the author of the article, the Fraser Institute report assesses the degree of economic freedom, defined as the ability of citizens to make financial decisions themselves. For this purpose, the organization analyzes the relevant strategies and institutions in 162 countries and territories.
The author of the article quotes Fred McMahon, the research chair in economic freedom at the Fraser Institute.
"Indicators include regulation, freedom to trade internationally, size of government, property rights, government spending, and taxation. The 2020 report is based on data from 2018, the latest year of comparable statistics. Lithuania (11th), Estonia (14th), Armenia (18th), and Latvia (19th) also make the global top 20, ahead of countries such as Japan and Germany. Of the emerging Europe and Central Asia nations included in the report, Ukraine (131st) and Tajikistan (132nd) have the lowest economic freedom levels. Globally, the lowest level of economic freedom in the world is in Venezuela. People living in countries with high economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties, and longer lives. For example, countries in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per capita GDP of 44,198 US dollars in 2018 compared to 5,754 US dollars for bottom quartile countries. And poverty rates are lower. In the top quartile, 1.7 percent of the population experienced extreme poverty (1.90 US dollars a day) compared to 31.5 percent in the lowest quartile. Finally, life expectancy is 80.3 years in the top quartile of countries compared to 65.6 years in the bottom quartile. Where people are free to pursue their opportunities and make their own choices, they lead more prosperous, happier, and healthier lives," Emerging Europe writes.
