Armenia is ranked 52nd in the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom published by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation.
According to the report, Armenia’s economic freedom score is 67.1, making its economy the 52nd freest in the 2015 Index. Its overall score has declined by 1.8 points from last year, reflecting considerable deterioration in property rights, labor freedom, and monetary freedom. This decline was the eighth-largest in the 2015 Index. Armenia is ranked 23rd among the 43 countries in the Europe region, and its score puts it above the world and regional averages.
Armenia’s transition to a more dynamic and market-oriented economy has been facilitated by openness to global commerce and by regulatory reforms designed to encourage entrepreneurial activity. However, continued efforts, particularly to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and eradicate corruption, are needed to ensure progress in long-term economic development.
Although Armenia performs relatively well in most categories compared to world averages, the historical gains are not fully institutionalized, and the country’s economic freedom has been on a five-year downward path. This decline has taken place across six of the 10 economic freedoms, most notably in labor freedom, freedom from corruption, and monetary freedom.
Hong Kong tops the list, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Switzerland. Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as follows: Georgia – 22nd, Russia – 143rd, Turkey – 70th, Azerbaijan 85, Iran – 171st.
The Index covers 10 freedoms – from property rights to entrepreneurship – in 186 countries. The economic freedom is measured based on 10 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four broad categories, or pillars, of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom).
Each of the ten economic freedoms within these categories is graded on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall score is derived by averaging these ten economic freedoms, with equal weight being given to each.
