Hong Kong Ranked 'Freest' Economy In The World

Hong Kong, now an integral part of China, had the world's freest economy in 1997, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, and the U.S., judges the just-released Economic Freedom of the World: 1998/1999 Interim Report. The index ranks 119 countries using 25 indicators of economic freedom that include the size of government and the security of private ownership. The Washington-based Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, is one of the institutes in 54 countries that copublished the report. According the listing, the least-free economies in 1997 were Myanmar (Burma), Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda, Albania, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Ukraine, Algeria, Central African Republic, Madagascar, and Romania.