India slips one rank in Canada's Fraser Institute's economic freedom index

New Delhi: India ranks 87th out of 165 countries in the economic freedom index, according to a report released on Thursday. The ranking is based the 'Economic Freedom of the World: 2021 Annual Report' by Canada's Fraser Institute and has been released in India in conjunction with New Delhi-based think tank Centre For Civil Society.

India has fallen one notch as the country was at the 86th spot in previous year's rankings.

Interestingly, China ranks well below India at 111th. Singapore has topped the index.

"From 1980 to now, India's rating has gone up considerably, from 4.90 to 6.62 but, our rank has fallen. This means while India is improving considerably in absolute terms but is not doing enough relative to other countries," it said.

However, in South Asia, India is doing pretty well, as per the report.

India reported a marginal increase in the size of government (7.64 from 7.57) and and regulation of credit, labour and business (5.98 from 5.96), while it was down slightly in legal system and property rights (5.29 from 5.3) and freedom to trade internationally (6.19 from 6.27).

A score closer to 10 indicates a higher level of economic freedom.

According to the report, Singapore topped the index.

It was followed by Hong Kong, Switzerland, New Zealand, the US, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, the UK, and Canada.

India has been ranked higher than China, which stands at the 111th position.

Venezuela once again ranks last.

Other notable rankings include Japan (20th), Germany (23rd), France (47th), and Russia (104th).

Partha J Shah from the Centre for Civil Society said, "India ranks 114th out of 165 countries in freedom to trade internationally and 116th in regulation. Prioritising reforms in these areas is crucial."

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