Among 177 countries surveyed, Hong Kong and Singapore placed first and second for the 18th consecutive year, respectively, while Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland came in at third, fourth and fifth in that order. Taiwan ranked 20th.
Among the 41 economies in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea placed eighth, while Taiwan ranked fifth.
South Korea's "score is 0.4 point higher than last year, with declines in labor freedom and monetary freedom offset by gains in the management of public spending and fiscal freedom," said the U.S. think tank on its website.
Taiwan's score rose on the strength of improving labor and business freedoms, as well as freedom from corruption, the survey said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com