February 18, 2022
Iran is ranked a miserable 170th among 177 countries in economic freedom in the latest annual report by the US Heritage Foundation.
With a score of 42 out of a maximum of 100, Iran ranked the lowest among the 14 Middle Eastern countries included in the 28th annual ranking issued by the foundation.
The United Arab Emirates ranked highest in the region with a score of 70, placing it 33rd in the world.
The index measures economic freedom based on 12 quantitative and qualitative factors grouped into four categories: rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets.
Iran ranked well with regard to the burden of taxation and size of the government bureaucracy. But it ranked low with regard to the rule of law. It ranked miserably in terms of government integrity and financial and investment freedoms.
The report said, “Over the past five years, Iran has experienced very slow growth: an average of only 1.2 percent annually. A five-year trend of declining economic freedom has accelerated. Sinking under the weight of sharp drops in scores for fiscal health and business freedom, Iran has recorded an 8.1-point overall loss of economic freedom since 2017 and has fallen further in the ‘Repressed’ category. Although taxes and government spending do not weigh heavily on the economy, all of the other 10 indicators for Iran reflect significant weaknesses….
“Iranians have the legal right to own property and establish private businesses, but powerful institutions such as the Revolutionary Guard limit fair competition and entrepreneurial opportunities. The judicial system is not independent of the Supreme Leader. The quality and availability of administrative services provided by the state are constrained by mismanagement, bribery, and rampant corruption. Anticorruption efforts target opponents of the regime….
“The bloated state-owned sector and companies controlled by Iranian security forces put private business owners at a disadvantage….
“The intrusive state continues to hold back economic development, undermining trade and investment flows. Government controls limit access to financing for businesses,” the report says about Iran.
The report lists the most economically free states as Singapore in first place, followed by Switzerland, Ireland and New Zealand.
The seven countries that rank lower than Iran are Eritrea, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea in last place. The bottom three are among Iran’s few allies.
The United States ranked 25th and Canada 15th.
