Macao ranks 19th in world for economic freedom

Macao (CNS) – Macao maintained its rank of 19 with a score of 71.8 in the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom despite dropping 1.3 points since last year, according to the index published by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation on January 12.

The index considers a number of factors including the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, limited government and open markets. Each of the 179 countries and regions that were part of the survey were classified as "free", "mostly free", "moderately free" or "mostly unfree". Macao was classified as "mostly free". Nearby Hong Kong maintained its position as the world's freest economy.