This year’s annual Economic Freedom ranking by the Canada-based Fraser Institute – with data concerning 2016 has Greece ranked 108th among 162 countries, an slightly improved ranking but still woeful for an EU and Eurozone member-state aiming to recover from nine years of punishing recession and austerity.
Factors such as bureaucratic obstacles (red-tape), high taxes and weaknesses in the justice system continue to weigh heavily on country’s position in the Economic Freedom index.
Greece’s 108th ranking means it’s placed between world-leading export giant China and Swaziland, a performance that also ranks it last in the Balkans and dead last in the EU.
The “silver lining” in the otherwise disappointing performance was that Greece actually advanced three spots from last year (based on 2015 figures and data), when the country was still in the midst of a third consecutive memorandum.
Publication of the latest Economic Freedom index comes amid stepped up attempts by the poll-trailing leftist-rightist coalition government to attract investment to the country in the post-bailout period.
The Frazer Institute had downgraded the country to its third category on the relevant list back in 2010, when the economic crisis commenced with a vengeance.
The second lowest-ranking EU country on the list is Croatia, at 75th place, i.e. 33 spots better than Greece.
Of non-EU states in the region, Bosnia is ranked 98th and Albania is in 34th place.
Venezuela is again ranked as last among 162 countries in terms of economic freedom.
The entire report can be found here:
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/economic-freedom/map?geozone=world&page=map&year=2016
