The 2019 Index of Economic Freedom is an index developed by the Heritage Foundation. The Index covers 12 freedoms – from property rights to financial freedom – in 186 countries.

For 2019, the top six countries in this index retained the same rankings as the 2018 index.

Four of the top five countries in this index are from the Asia Pacific region, with Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand taking the top three spots respectively with Australia in the fifth spot. European countries Switzerland and Ireland hold the fourth and sixth spot respectively.

The Heritage Foundation defines "economic freedom" as the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property and believes that the ideals of economic freedom are strongly associated with healthier societies, cleaner environments, greater per capita wealth, human development, democracy, and poverty elimination. For more information, please visit the Heritage Foundation website below: