... Significant progress made in last 20 years
Accra, Sept. 11 (GHP) -- Ghana retained its score (6.2/10) but slipped three places in it?s ranking (76/127) in the league tables of economic freedom, according to the Economic Freedom of the World: 2005 Annual Report, released last Thursday by the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute full report.

Ghana's drop was insignificant, because the latest index included four more countries. Last year, Ghana ranked 73 out of 123 countries.

However, Ghana is among those nations that have made substantial gains in economic freedom since 1985 and ranks ahead of China (86), Brazil (88), Nigeria(88), Senegal(94).

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2001	2002	2003
Summary Ratings (Rank)	2.9 (105)	3.2 (107)	5.0 (75)	5.6 (75)	5.9 (80)	5.7 (91)	6.2 (73)	6.2 (76)

In this year?s index, based on data for 2003, Hong Kong retains the highest rating for economic freedom at 8.7 of 10, closely followed by Singapore at 8.5. New Zealand, Switzerland and the US tied for third with ratings of 8.2. Russia tied for 115th place with Rwanda and Togo; Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) tie for 124 place, and Myanmar closed the list in 127th place.
Globally economic freedom has increased. The average economic freedom score rose to 6.4 (out of 10) in 2003 from 5.2 in 1985. Of the 109 nations with scores in 1985 and which are included in the most recent index, 96 recorded an improvement in their economic freedom score, seven saw a decline, and six registered changes of under 0.1 points.
Canada?s Fraser Institute?s Economic Freedom of the World? is based on weighted indicators: the size of government; access to sound money, legal structure and security of property rights; freedom to exchange with foreigners; and regulation of credit, labor and business. The first Economic Freedom of the World Report was published in 1996 and was the result of a decade of research by a team which included several Nobel Laureates and over 60 other leading scholars in a broad range of fields.