Azernews.Az

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Azerbaijan ranks 92nd among 179 countries on economic freedom, the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation said in an annual report.

Azerbaijan’s overall score is 59.7 out of 100 points, which is 0.9 points higher than last year, reflecting significant improvements in fiscal freedom, monetary freedom, and freedom from corruption, said the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom released on Wednesday.

Azerbaijan is ranked 15th out of 41 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is above the regional average, Heritage said.

The report said Azerbaijan’s government has embraced wide-ranging reforms to improve economic freedom. Openness to global trade, relatively moderate taxation, and streamlined business processes have aided the country’s transition to a market-based system. Continued transformation and restructuring are needed both to capitalize on Azerbaijan’s well-educated labor force and tradition of entrepreneurship and to diversify production, it said.

The report noted, however, that despite considerable gains in regulatory reform and economic diversification, substantial challenges remain, particularly in implementing deeper institutional and systemic reforms. Property rights and freedom from corruption remain weak, and government interference and control hurt overall monetary stability and foreign investment.

The 2011 Index indicated that Azerbaijan lags behind its neighbors in the South Caucasus region, as Georgia was rated 29th and Armenia 36th.

Hong Kong has topped the rating for a 17th straight year. It is followed by Singapore and Australia.

The United States fell to the 9th freest from 8th last year and United Kingdom slipped to 16 place from 11 in 2010 due to more policy responses to the global economic turmoil, it added.

North Korea ranked 179th, at the bottom of the list with a score of 1.0, followed by Zimbabwe in 178th place.

In its 2010 Index, Heritage also said economic freedoms had improved in Azerbaijan, ranking its economy the 96th freest in the world. It said then that the country had advanced three points and granted it an economic freedom score of 58.8, 0.8 points higher than the 2009 ranking.