Greece Ranks Lowest in EU for Economic Freedom, Study Reveals

Greece still has a long way to go in order to achieve greater economic freedom and improve its standing on critical issues such as government size, entrepreneurship, incomes and trade according to a recent study, placing the country at the lowest ‘step’ of the EU ranking.

More specifically, a report by the Center for Liberal Studies conducted in collaboration with the Canadian Fraser Institute, ranks Greece at the bottom tier among European countries on the Economic Freedom Index, sharing this place with Poland.

On a global scale, Greece stands between Mongolia and Kenya. Utilizing data from 2022, out of 165 nations, the country is ranked 70th, while it occupies the 16th worst place regarding government size.

The study evaluates and ranks Greece across five main areas of economic freedom:

• Government Size: 150th position

• Rule of Law and Property Rights: 50th position

• Access to a Strong Currency: 68th position

• Freedom in International Trade: 36th position

• Regulatory Environment, Banking Trust, Labor, and Entrepreneurship: 75th position.

The study highlights the challenges Greece faces in enhancing its economic freedom stressing the need for significant reforms to improve its standing both within the European Union and on the global stage.

At the top of the Economic Freedom Index we find Hong Kong and Singapore ranking first and second respectively, for another year. Amongst the top five nations with the best performance the report includes Switzerland, New Zealand, and the United States.

Within the European Union, Denmark stands out securing the 6th position, globally, with Germany ranking 16th and France 36th. Conversely, other non-member sates like Russia are positioned at the 94th place.

The five countries with the lowest scores are Algeria, Syria, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela. Nations such as North Korea and Cuba are excluded from the rankings due to insufficient data.