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29 countries with most economic freedom
In some countries opening and running a business is as easy as travelling from one city to another, while in some it means battling layers of bureaucracy.
Let us have a look at countries that rank high in economic freedom, based on Fraser Institute's ranking.
Here economic freedom means the liberty to produce, trade and consume any goods and services acquired without the use of force, fraud or theft.
This is embodied in the rule of law, property rights and freedom of contract, and characterized by external and internal openness of the markets, the protection of property rights and freedom of economic initiative.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Hong Kong
Score: 9.01
World ranking: 1
Hong Kong is one of two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Macau.
A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Singapore
Score: 8.68
World ranking: 2
An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south.
The country is highly urbanised with very little primary rainforest remaining, although more land is being created for development through land reclamation.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
New Zealand
Score: 8.20
World ranking: 3
The country is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.
Due to its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Switzerland
Score: 8.03
World ranking: 4
Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities.
The country is situated in Western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Australia
Score: 7.98
World ranking: 5
It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Canada
Score: 7.81
World ranking: 6
Canada is a North American country consisting of 10 provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Chile
Score: 7.77
World ranking: 7
Chile is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
The United Kingdom
Score: 7.71
World ranking: 8
The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Mauritius
Score: 7.67
World ranking: 9
Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres east of Madagascar.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
The United States
Score: 7.60
World ranking: 10
The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC, the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Bahrain
Score: 7.59
World ranking: 11
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km long by 18 km wide.
Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway.
Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Finland
Score: 7.59
World ranking: 12
It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Slovakia
Score: 7.56
World ranking: 13
Slovakia is a landlocked country bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
The United Arab Emirates
Score: 7.54
World ranking: 14
The UAE is situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Denmark
Score: 7.52
World ranking: 15
It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany.
Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Estonia
Score: 7.52
World ranking: 16
It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by the Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Hungary
Score: 7.52
World ranking: 17
It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Cyprus
Score: 7.51
World ranking: 18
Cyprus is a Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt.
It is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Austria
Score: 7.50
World ranking: 19
It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Luxembourg
Score: 7.49
World ranking: 20
Luxembourg is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Germany
Score: 7.45
World ranking: 21
With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union.
It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Japan
Score: 7.44
World ranking: 22
Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Panama
Score: 7.41
World ranking: 23
Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Lithuania
Score: 7.40
World ranking: 24
It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, and across the Baltic Sea to the west lie Sweden and Denmark.
It shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and a Russian exclave (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Ireland
Score: 7.38
World ranking: 25
It is the third-largest island in Europe and the 20th-largest island on Earth.
To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Taiwan
Score: 7.37
World ranking: 26
Taiwan is an island of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Georgia
Score: 7.36
World ranking: 27
Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Bulgaria
Score: 7.34
World ranking: 28
Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south.
The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east.
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29 countries with most economic freedom
Oman
Score: 7.34
World ranking: 29
It is bordered by the UAE to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest.
The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast.