Bulgaria Records Progress in Economic Freedom - NGO

According to the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, published by the Heritage Foundation, Bulgarian economy is moderately free.

Bulgaria has an economic freedom score of 66.8, which represents an improvement of 1.1 points compared to the previous year.

Bulgaria records a progress in four of the indicators - investment freedom, freedom from corruption, trade freedom and monetary freedom.

These improvements outweigh the declines, which the country has experienced in business freedom, labour freedom and fiscal freedom.

Bulgaria ranks 26th out of 43 European countries included in the survey and 55th in the overall ranking.

Although, the country's overall score is above the world average, it ranks below the regional average.

Heritage notes that Bulgaria has taken steps to control budget deficits and public debt more effectively, but the country still has to carry out reforms to achieve broad-based economic freedom and growth.

Ensuring independence of the judiciary and tackling corruption are pointed as measures, which the country has to take in order to strengthen the foundations of the economic freedom.

Hong Kong has the freest economy, while North Korea possesses the most repressed economy in the world.