17 Years Strong: Hong Kong Ranked World's Freest Economy; U.S. Lands 9th Highest Spot

The Washington-based Heritage Foundation has rated Hong Kong as the world's freest economy for the 17th consecutive year, beating out Singapore in second place, and Australia in third. The Heritage Foundation's 2011 Index of Economic Freedom report was released Wednesday, and looks at 183 economies relative to business and monetary freedom, property and investment rights, and more. Hong Kong scored 89.7 on the index, much higher than the 59.7 world average. The report said, "Hong Kong, one of the world's most competitive financial and business centers, demonstrated a high degree of resilience during the global financial crisis." The U.S. ranked in ninth place, down from the eighth spot in 2010. Canada came in sixth place with a ranking of 80.8 and North Korea earned the lowest spot on the list in 179th place, with a 1.0 score.