Small Business Resources, Business Advice and Forms from AllBusiness.com

Hong Kong is freest

ECONOMY

A special administrative region of the People's Republic of China since July 1997, Hong Kong repeats in 2002 as the freest of 156 economies rated by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank, and the Wall Street Journal. Singapore ranks No. 2 and New Zealand

No. 3, according to the most recent annual Index of Economic Freedom. The U.S. ties for fourth, along with Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The least free economy? It's a tie between North Korea and Iraq. The ranking is based on 50 economic variables that range from banking to black-market activity.

In addition, make sure to read these articles: