South Africa Excels in Economic Freedom

South Africa has finally become one of Africa’s freest economies, ranking well above the world average, as revealed by the Heritage Foundation’s 2008 Index of Economic Freedom.

The Index, which for the past 14 years has been compiled by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, evaluates over 160 countries across 10 specific economic categories, including fiscal, investment or property freedom.

South Africa performs well within the African panorama, making it the fourth freest economy in the continent. With a score of 63.2%, the country was only topped by Mauritius (18th), Botswana (36th) and Uganda (52nd).

As the 57th freest economy in the World, South Africa overtakes its strong emerging country competitors, ranking well above the BRIC countries. Brazil is the closest to follow, ranking 101, with India (115th), China (126th) and Russia (134th) lagging well behind the beautiful “Azania” (a name some South Africans use in preference to "South Africa").

Yet the country, with its kaleidoscope of cultures and languages, has more to be boastful about, with an above-average score (60.3%) in economic freedom. The report continues to highlight the business freedom in “Azania”: “The overall freedom to start, operate, and close a business is relatively well protected by South Africa's regulatory environment.”

The Heritage Foundation reports that monetary freedom in South Africa is one of its best attributes. With a moderate inflation rate and stable prices, the country lost a few of its percentage points to internal policies that distort domestic prices, giving it a final mark of 77.2% in the monetary freedom spectrum.

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