Cover page of Index| Source: CATO Institute
The Human Freedom Index 2020, a worldwide ranking of civil, economic and personal freedom, released on Thursday, placed India at 111th place out of 162 countries. In the previous year, India was placed at 94th place.
India is ranked 110 in terms of personal freedom and 105 on economic freedom, with an overall score of 6.43 out of 10.
The Human Freedom Index 2020, which uses data from 2008 to 2018, by the Cato Institute in the United States and Fraser Institute in Canada, noted a global decrease in personal freedoms since 2008. The index covered 76 indicators of personal, civic, and economic freedom.
India’s neighbors Bangladesh and Pakistan are ranked at 139th and 140th spot, respectively. The Index places china at 129th rank, whereas The United States ranks 17th.
New Zealand was ranked one in the index, followed by Switzerland and Hong Kong. However, the author believes that the territory has been losing freedom during the past 10 years and it is expected that future editions may see notable declines in Hong Kong’s ratings and rankings, especially given Beijing’s aggressive interventions there in 2019 and 2020.
The report can be accessed here.