The U.S. likes to think of itself as the freest country on Earth. But does the data confirm that belief?
According to the Cato Institute's 2023 “Human Freedom Index” report, the U.S. ranks 17th overall, tied with Lithuania and the U.K.
But hey – that's an improvement from 20th place in the last report.
The criteria used to measure freedom are varied across economic, social, and political categories, including items such as the “rule of law,” “association, assembly, and civil society,” and “size of government.”
Using these and other criteria, the 10 freest countries are: Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark,
Ireland, Estonia and Sweden (tied), Iceland, Luxembourg, Finland, and Norway.
So why does the U.S. not crack the overall top 10?
Our middling scores on personal liberty. We score poorly, according to the report, in areas like freedom of movement, the rule of law. Our scores on things like security and freedom of expression are good, but not great. The overall personal freedom score is 27th out of 165 countries.
Conversely, our economic freedom is a top 10 success, ranking 5th out of 165 countries. The size of government holds us back. But the dollar is still king, and that counts for a lot in the measurement of economic freedom.
There are items to quibble with in this report – not the least of which is that this report covers items during the COVID-era of 2020-2021. Government mandated shutdowns and other measures unquestionably influenced the rankings. It's legitimate to wonder whether a nation like New Zealand, which had serious restrictions on movement during the height of COVID, could rank 2nd in overall freedom. But to be fair to the report, their measures of other personal freedom items, like security and expression, were much higher than in the U.S.
As with any such report, then, take the findings for what they are, and wonder what they might have been without a global pandemic.
But more importantly, work to see that both personal and economic freedom remains a priority in the U.S. A country is only as free as its people allow it to be. If we accept restrictions on expression, movement, the rule of law, trade, and a host of others, we are surrendering freedom to the state and its associated actors.
And they do not return it gladly.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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