Economic Freedom of the World Index

Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The annual report is published in conjunction with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent research and educational institutes in over 70 nations. The Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies is the Israel partner in the network, collecting and calculating Israel's level of economic freedom.

The Economic Freedom of the World project was developed by Milton and Rose Friedman and a team of economists from universities and think tanks around the world in order to create a measurable index of economic freedom, useful in academia and policy. A new report is issued each year, reflecting the latest data available.

The annual peer-reviewed report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The key ingredients of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and the protection of persons and property. This report provides the most comprehensive index of economic freedom available. It uses reproducible-measures appropriate for peer-reviewed research. Economic Freedom of the World has been cited in over 250 peer-reviewed academic articles and more than 100 books.

Israel has seen a slight improvement in its level of economic freedom over the past decade but is falling behind compared to the rest of the world, according to the 2007 report. Hong Kong once again tops international rankings for economic freedom, with Singapore a close second and New Zealand in the third spot. Israel ranked 44th this year, after ranking 39th in last year's report.

Download the 2007 Report
Download the Israel Data

To download the Press Release
To download the Press Release in Hebrew