Georgia takes 22nd place in 2014 Index of Economic Freedom

Georgia finished in 22nd place in the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom among 178 countries, the international organization Heritage Foundation says. Georgia’s economic freedom score is 72.6, making its economy the 22nd freest in the 2014 Index. Its overall score is 0.4 point higher than last year, with improvements in six of the 10 economic freedoms including the management of public finance, investment freedom, monetary freedom, and property rights. Georgia is ranked 12th out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and its score is well above the regional average.

According to the organization, over the 19 years that Georgia has been graded in the Index, its economic freedom has advanced over 28 points, the third best of any country. The impressive rise of Georgia’s economic freedom has been propelled by broad-based score improvements in such critical areas as regulatory efficiency and market openness. Notable structural reforms have included trade liberalization, privatization, implementation of competitive flat tax rates, and modernization of the regulatory environment. With the effective maintenance of low inflation, greater monetary stability has also been achieved.

According to the Heritage Foundation, from a “repressed” economy almost two decades ago, Georgia has gradually advanced to the ranks of the economically “mostly free,” achieving its highest score ever in the 2014 Index. Nonetheless, deeper institutional reforms to eradicate lingering corruption and increase judicial independence are critical to ensuring greater economic freedom in Georgia. (InterPressNews)