STA, 18 December - Slovenia has placed 35th in this year's human freedom index ranking, retaining the same place as last year. The ranking includes 162 countries, with New Zealand topping the list. Slovenia's index is 7.97, above the average of 6.89.
Among the country's neighbours, Austria is the only one doing better, ranking 13th, while all the others lag behind - Italy ranked 32nd, Croatia 37th and Hungary 45th.
Screenshot from the full report
"Freedom is not only priceless, it also has a vital role in creating prosperity, fighting against poverty and propelling economic development and democratic stability, so it is key that it is assessed as accurately as possible and that the measure is as broad as possible," said Tanja Porčnik of Visio Institut, a Slovenian institute which co-authors the report along with the US think tank Cato Institute.
Other contributors include Canadian Fraser Institute, German Liberales Institut and Russian Institute of Economic Analyses.
The ranking uses publicly available data, with the 2019 report based on the 2017 figures.
On a scale of 0 to 10, the 2017 average human freedom index was 6.89, with 70 countries improving their ranking and 88 ranking lower.
Since 2008, the index has dropped by an average 0.07 - mostly a result of populism, nationalism and authoritarianism worldwide, according to Porčnik.
The index encompasses 76 indicators of personal and economic freedoms, including the rule of law, security, movement, religion, assembly, civil society, expression and information, identity and relationships, legal system and property rights, currency stability, international trade and regulations.
Screenshot from the full report
Country profiles can be found here (PDF), while the full report (PDF) can be found here
