The 11th edition of the Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal measures 161 countries against a list of 50 independent variables divided into 10 broad factors of economic freedom. These 50 variables are grouped into the following categories:

• Trade policy,
• Fiscal burden of government,
• Government intervention in the economy,
• Monetary policy,
• Capital flows and foreign investment,
• Banking and finance,
• Wages and prices,
• Property rights,
• Regulation
• Informal market activity.

Surprinsingly (or not) US for the first time no longer ranks among the top 10 free nations of the world. Surprisingly (or not) Romania is placed the 125th way behind countries as Rwanda or Lebanon.