India slips in economic freedom index to 114th position, below China and Nepal

The latest Economic Freedom Index report, prepared by three of the west's well-known neo-liberal institute, has ranked India at 114th position in the world, below China, which has been ranked No 111th. Titled “Economic Freedom of the World: 2015 Annual Report”, the top report, ironically, has found that India ranked pretty high in economic freedom before liberalization was introduced in 1991, but following some improvement, it again began slipping.
Thus, the report's data suggest that India ranked No 57th in 1980 and 81st in 1990. It slightly improved its position to 75th in 2000 and 78th in 2005. Then the fall began – it was 111th in 2010, 102nd in 2012, and the worst was in 2013, the last year for which the data has been collected, when it reached the 114th position. The report has been co-published by the Cato Institute (US), the Fraser Institute (Canada), and the Liberales (Switzerland).
Ranking 157 countries, the report has found Hong Kong ranking No 1, followed, interestingly, by Singapore, which has one of the world's most controlled political systems. Others in the top ten are New Zealand, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Jordan, Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Other major countries' rankings are Australia 11th, the United States 16th, Japan 26th, Germany 29th, South Korea tied for 39th, Italy 68th, France 70th, Mexico 93rd, Russia 99th, and Brazil 118th. The 10 lowest-rated countries are: Angola, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Argentina, Syria, Chad, Libya, Republic of Congo, and, lastly, Venezuela.
Among other neighbours, interestingly, Bangladesh ranks just next to India, on the 115th position, and Pakistan is ranked way down, occupying the 124th position. Neipal ranks better than India, on the 106th position.
Coming to individual areas, India ranks 35th in size of government, 83rd in legal system and property rights, 134th in sound money, 135th in freedom to trade internationally, and 123rd in regulations. At the same time, the report ranks India as one of the ten worst ranking countries in other categories – life satisfaction and life control. Here, it is in the company of Pakistan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Egypt and others.
Ranking countries on a scale of 10, the report states, “Global economic freedom increased slightly in this year’s report, but remains below its peak level of 6.92 in 2007. The average score increased to 6.86 in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available.” India's score on a scale of 10 is 6.43, below world average.
Giving the index of others, the report states, “In this year’s index, Hong Kong retains the highest rating for economic freedom, 8.97 out of 10. The rest of this year’s top scores are Singapore, 8.52; New Zealand, 8.19; Switzerland, 8.16; United Arab Emirates, 8.15; Mauritius, 8.08; Jordan, 7.93; Ireland, 7.90; Canada, 7.89; and the United Kingdom at 7.87.”
“The United States, once considered a bastion of economic freedom, now ranks 16th in the world with a score of 7.73. Due to a weakening rule of law, increasing regulation, and the ramifications of wars on terrorism and drugs, the United States has seen its economic freedom score plummet in recent years, compared to 2000 when it ranked second globally”, the report says.
“Nations in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per capita GDP of US$38,601 in 2013, compared to US$6,986 for bottom quartile nations”, the report says, adding, “Moreover, the average income of the poorest 10% in the most economically free nations is about 50% greater than the overall average income in the least free nations.”
It further says, “Life expectancy is 80.1 years in the top quartile compared to 63.1 years in the bottom quartile, and political and civil liberties are considerably higher in economically free nations than in unfree nations.”
The first Economic Freedom of the World Report was published in 1996, a result of a decade of research by a team which included several Nobel Laureates and over 60 other leading scholars in a broad range of fields, from economics to political science, and from law to philosophy.
This is the 19th edition of Economic Freedom of the World report.

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog