By Tarmo Saks
January 30, 2015
According to a new study, Estonia is ranked 8th in the world in terms of economic freedom and all members of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) were within the top 40.
In the regional rankings of 43 European countries Estonia ranked 2nd (only behind Switzerland) and three other NB8 countries were also ranked in the 10 top within Europe including Denmark (4th), Lithuania (6th), and Finland (9th).
The annual 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, a publication of the Heritage Foundation (a Washington-based think tank) in partnership with the Wall Street Journal defines economic freedom as “the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please.”
The study stated that this year’s score helped Estonia (ranked 11th in 2014) to confirm itself as a regional leader in economic freedom and reestablish itself as one of the world’s freest economies for the first time since 2007.
Out of 178 countries ranked in the index, Russia was 143rd.
