Bulgaria Drops Three Spots in Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom Ranking  

Bulgaria has descended three spots in Fraser Institute's annual Economic Freedom of the World report, ranking 42nd among 157 countries and territories - at par with the Czech Republic, Sweden and Jamaica.

This year's edition of the report is based on 2013 statistics, the most recent year for which data is available. In last year's issue of the report Bulgaria ranked 39th.

Bulgaria is ranking 61st in terms of size of government and 94th in terms of legal system, with indicators such as judicial independence, impartiality of courts, protection of property rights and integrity of the legal system each rated below 5 out of maximum 10 points.

The country ranks 46th in terms of freedom to trade internationally. In terms of regulatory burden on freedom to engage in voluntary exchange Bulgaria is ranking 33rd. In terms of access to sound money the country is placed 36th thanks to monetary stability backed by the currency board system as well as relatively low inflation in 2013.

According to the report, the top 10 most economically free jurisdictions are Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Jordan, Ireland and Canada, with the United Kingdom and Chile tied for 10th place.

The United States is 16th, Japan 26th, Germany 29th, Italy 68th, France 70th, Russia (99th), China (111th), India (114th), and Brazil (118th).

The 10 lowest-rated countries are: Angola, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Argentina, Syria, Chad, Libya, the Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.

The report is ranking countries based on economic freedom, which is measured in five areas: size of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and...