Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked 97th on the Index of Economic Freedom, traditionally published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, Indikator.ba reports. Our country has achieved its best progress yet in the past year, shifting four places in relation to the previous report, highest in the field of freedom from corruption, but in the report we are still treated as a “mostly unfree” country.
The economic freedom score for BiH is 59, which puts us as the 97th freest global economy among 178 countries. The total result is growth of 0.6 percent, with improvements in freedom from corruption, monetary freedom, and labor freedom, partially experiencing a decline in investment and business freedom. BiH is ranked 38th of 43 countries in Europe, and the result is below the global and regional average.
“Over the past five years, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economic freedom has advanced by 1.5 points, registering its highest score ever in the 2015 Index. Reforms have led to improvements in half of the 10 factors, including government spending and labor, monetary, and trade freedoms, with an especially notable 12-point gain in freedom from corruption,” the report states.
It also adds that despite a decade of concerted effort to improve economic prospects through broad, gradual institutional improvements, the BiH economy still remains in the “mostly unfree” category, and needs deep structural and institutional reforms.
Concretely, the complete eradication of corruption, which would be guaranteed by an independent judiciary and consistent enforcement of property rights, are of vital importance to raising the country to higher levels of economic freedom and prosperity.
Of the countries in the region, Macedonia is ranked 53rd, Albania is 63rd, Montenegro 66th, Croatia 81st, and Slovenia 88th, dropping 15 places.
Ahead of BiH on the ranking is Serbia in 90th place, while North Korea comes last in the global rankings.
(Source: Oslobodjenje)
