Economic Freedom Index of Europe

What are the most and least economically free countries in Europe?

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The Index of Economic Freedom, is an index compiled by the Heritage Foundation. They describe economic freedom as the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labour and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please. In economically free societies, governments allow labour, capital, and goods to move freely, and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself.

The most economically free countries, are also the countries with the highest GDP per capita. Most of the countries that are economically free or mostly economically free, are located in Europe. 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. Other European countries that score well, are Luxembourg (78.4), the Netherlands (78.0), Denmark (77.6), Sweden (77.5), Finland (77.1) and Norway (76.9).

The least economically free countries in Europe are Belarus (51.0) and Russia (53.8). Both scoring far lower than any other European country.

The Heritage Foundation measures economic freedom based on 12 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four broad categories, or pillars, of economic freedom:

1. Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness)
2. Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health)
3. Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom)
4. Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom)

Each of the twelve economic freedoms within these categories is graded on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall score is derived by averaging these twelve economic freedoms, with equal weight being given to each.