Canadians have it pretty good.
Not only is Canada one of the best countries to live in, but our nation is also one of the freest in the world.
Canada ranks as the 6th freest country in the world according to the Fraser Institute’s Human Freedom Index (HFI) 2016.
The index ranks countries based on 79 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas:
- Rule of Law
- Security and Safety
- Movement
- Religion
- Association, Assembly, and Civil Society
- Expression
- Relationships
- Size of Government
- Legal System and Property Rights
- Access to Sound Money
- Freedom to Trade Internationally
- Regulation to Credit, Labour, and Business
Canada finished behind Hong Kong, Switzerland, New Zealand, Ireland, and Denmark. Australia, the UK, and Finland tied with Canada for sixth place.
Canada 6th freest country in the world, United States drops to 23rd https://t.co/iBOvUVDxIg #cdnpoli #FreedomIndex16 pic.twitter.com/G0clp1c5zJ
— The Fraser Institute (@FraserInstitute) November 29, 2016
The Human Freedom Index ranks 159 countries in total. The ten freest countries in the world are:
1. Hong Kong
2. Switzerland
3. New Zealand
4. Ireland
5. Denmark
6. Canada
6. Australia
6. United Kingdom
9. Finland
10. Netherlands
By region, the average highest rankings on the index were from Western and Northern Europe followed by North America. The lowest rankings were countries from South Asia. Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa.
The countries with the lowest amount of freedom according to the HFI are:
150. Angola
151. Democratic Republic of Congo
152. Algeria
153. Myanmar
154. Venezuela
155. Central African Republic
156. Syria
157. Iran
158. Yemen
159. Libya