View source for State of World Liberty Index

{{Short description|Ranking of countries by economic and personal freedoms}}
The '''State of World [[Liberty]] Index''' was a ranking of countries according to the degree of [[economic freedom|economic]] and [[personal freedom]]s that their citizens enjoy. It was a compilation of several similar indices created by other organizations. The index's original author Nick Wilson defined [[Freedom (political)|freedom]] as "the ability for the individual to live their lives as they choose, as long as they do not infringe on the rights of others to do the same."

Only one report (the 2006 State of World Liberty Index, released 12 August 2006) was produced by the State of World Liberty Project and the original website is now defunct.  However, Patrick Rhamey, professor in the Department of International Studies at the [[Virginia Military Institute]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vmi.edu/academics/departments/international-studies-and-political-science/faculty-and-staff/|title=Faculty and Staff - International Studies and Political Science - Virginia Military Institute|website=www.vmi.edu}}</ref> has updated the rankings through 2022 using the same concept, with some adjustments to the original method.<ref name=idx2023>{{Cite web|url=https://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-research/2023/5/24/2023-state-of-world-liberty-index|title=2023 State of World Liberty Index|website=J. Patrick Rhamey Jr.|date=7 July 2023 }}</ref>

The index has been cited by [[human rights organisation]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.globalhrnews.com/b4/b4home.asp?sid=896 |title=Global HR News: Home |access-date=2007-02-18 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929080747/http://www.globalhrnews.com/b4/b4home.asp?sid=896 |url-status=dead }}</ref> governments,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/news/Newsletters/CurrentLatvia/2006/august/672/ |title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia: &#91;CL&#93; Nr. 672, 4 - 11 August 2006 |access-date=2007-02-18 |archive-date=2007-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926223819/http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/news/Newsletters/CurrentLatvia/2006/august/672/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> pro-democracy groups,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.alausa.org/new.php?lang=en&new=&id=19 |title=The American Latvian Association - ALA |access-date=2007-02-18 |archive-date=2006-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129201634/http://www.alausa.org/new.php?lang=en&new=&id=19 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-democracy.md/en/e-journal/20060831/|title=ADEPT : E-journal|website=www.e-democracy.md}}</ref> news organisations,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aruzza.com/documents/new_york_times.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-02-18 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102051/http://www.aruzza.com/documents/new_york_times.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.eurasianet.org/turkmenistan.project/index.php?page=wnb/editor/wnb20060811&lang=eng| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070610193017/http://www.eurasianet.org/turkmenistan.project/index.php?page=wnb/editor/wnb20060811&lang=eng| archive-date = 2007-06-10| title = Turkmenistan Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/18984/|title=Armenia Ranks 79 in Free Countries Index|website=PanARMENIAN.Net}}</ref> and others.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ccmbl.md/news_e_08_06.htm |title=Chamber of Commerce Moldova-Belgium-Luxemburg |access-date=2007-02-18 |archive-date=2007-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930110537/http://www.ccmbl.md/news_e_08_06.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dnbnord.com/multimedia/BE_Weekly_122_eng.pdf|title = Global Network - DNB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sarke.ge/nato/image/EU-NATO%20prezentation(1).ppt#299,23,GOOD%20GOVERNANCE |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-02-18 |archive-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928133013/http://www.sarke.ge/nato/image/EU-NATO%20prezentation(1).ppt#299,23,GOOD%20GOVERNANCE |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Methodology==
The 2006 State of World Liberty Index was created by combining the rankings of four other indexes of world liberty into one: the "2005 [[Economic Freedom of the World]]" Index ([[Fraser Institute]]), the "2006 [[Index of Economic Freedom]]" ([[The Heritage Foundation]]), the "2005 Freedom in the World" index ([[Freedom House]]), and the "2005 [[Press Freedom Index]]" ([[Reporters Without Borders]]).

These reports are used to score countries in three categories: individual freedom, [[economic freedom]], and government size plus [[taxation]].  These three scores are then averaged to give a country's overall score.

The 2012–2023 Rankings<ref name=idx2023/> reproduce the original ranking concept using the same data sources, albeit adjusting the weighting of data to best capture the original intent of measuring "the ability of the individual to live their lives as they choose."  Measures are also standardized appropriately given the different scales used across indices and the government burden category was condensed into the broader indicator of economic freedom.

Beginning in 2018, the ranking also includes a measure of how Conservative or Progressive a state is, defined as whether a state regulates either social or economic issues more heavily.

==2023 rankings==
In the 2023 index,<ref name=idx2023/> [[Switzerland]] is ranked most free overall, while [[North Korea]] is last. [[Bahrain]] was ranked most conservative, while [[Argentina]] was ranked most progressive.

{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank
! Country
|-
| 1 || {{flag|Switzerland}} 
|-
| 2 || {{flag|New Zealand}} 
|-
| 3 || {{flag|Ireland}}
|-
| 4 || {{flag|Norway}}
|-
| 4 || {{flag|Denmark}}
|-
| 6 || {{flag|Sweden}}
|-
| 6 || {{flag|Finland}}
|-
| 6 || {{flag|Netherlands}}
|-
| 9 || {{flag|Luxembourg}}
|-
|}
{{col-2}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank
! Country
|-
| 174 || {{flag|Yemen}}
|-
| 174 || {{flag|Turkmenistan}}
|-
| 176 || {{flag|Iran}}
|-
| 177 || {{flag|Eritrea}}
|-
| 178 || {{flag|Libya}}
|-
| 179 || {{flag|Sudan}}
|-
| 180 || {{flag|Cuba}}
|-
| 181 || {{flag|Venezuela}}
|-
| 182 || {{flag|Syria}}
|-
| 183 || {{flag|North Korea}}

|}
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:International rankings]]
[[Category:Civil rights and liberties]]
[[Category:Social science indices]]
[[Category:Works about freedom of expression]]
[[Category:Human rights-related lists]]