Methods

Economic Freedom of the World

How far a country's policies and institutions support economic freedom, in five areas, for up to 165 jurisdictions back to 1970.

Fraser Institute · The publisher's page · All methods

What it looks at

Combines other sources — What the law says · What happens

Coverage: Up to 165 jurisdictions, from 1970.

What it is made of

  • Size of government
  • Legal system and property rights
  • Sound money
  • Freedom to trade internationally
  • Regulation

May its data be shown here?

Needs permission

Free to download is not a licence to republish: showing its figures needs the Institute's written permission.

The publisher's terms, quotedCopyright © 2025 by the Fraser Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission…

Questions to ask of it

  • Which sources does it combine, and does any of them count twice (the same survey feeding two parts)?
  • Are the weights argued for or simply chosen? A ranking that changes when the weights change says more about the weights than the countries; on Solon you can set your own.
  • Does it mix what the law says with what happens? Solon keeps those apart, so a gap between them shows instead of averaging away.
  • Its figures cannot be shown here. Read them at the publisher's, and weigh them with the questions above.
  • Some of how it works has not been read yet; until it is, judge it on what is listed.

Not read yet

These are left open rather than filled in from memory.

  • The data page's own terms (it builds itself in JavaScript; fraserinstitute.org refused the request)

Read these figures with help

The facts below are worked out by program from this page's figures, with no AI. The explanation, if you ask for one, is written by an AI from these facts only, and is checked against them before you see it.

The facts, in plain words

  1. F1Economic Freedom of the World, published by Fraser Institute, says it measures: How far a country's policies and institutions support economic freedom, in five areas, for up to 165 jurisdictions back to 1970.
  2. F2How it is made: composite. What it looks at: de jure, de facto.
  3. F3Its parts, as the publisher names them: Size of government; Legal system and property rights; Sound money; Freedom to trade internationally; Regulation.
  4. F4Coverage: Up to 165 jurisdictions, from 1970.
  5. F5Licence: permission. The terms say: "Copyright © 2025 by the Fraser Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission…" Free to download is not a licence to republish: showing its figures needs the Institute's written permission.
  6. F6Not read yet: The data page's own terms (it builds itself in JavaScript; fraserinstitute.org refused the request).
  7. F7A question to ask of it: Which sources does it combine, and does any count twice?
  8. F8A question to ask of it: Are the weights argued for or simply chosen, and does the ranking survive other weights?
  9. F9A question to ask of it: Does it mix what the law says with what happens?
  10. F10A question to ask of it: Its figures cannot be shown on Solon.
  11. F11A question to ask of it: Part of how it works has not been read yet.
  12. F12Source read on 2026-11-09: Economic Freedom of the World: 2025 Annual Report (PDF, as mirrored by the Liberales Institut).

Where this description comes from