Peru is the second most economically free nation in Latin America, and the 24th freest economy in the world, according to the Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report.
The index measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom.
Peru achieved an overall score of 7.6 out of 10, which places it well ahead of all other Latin American countries except for Chile.
Hong Kong tops the ranking of 144 countries and economies with a score of 8.90; followed by Singapore, 8.69; New Zealand, 8.36; Switzerland, 8.24; Australia, 7.97; Canada, 7.97; Mauritius, 7.90; Finland, 7.88; and Chile, 7.84.
Bahrain and Finland are new to the top 10 — replacing, notably, the United Kingdom (fell to 12th) and the United States (a sizable drop to 18th).
The report is co-published by the U.S. Cato Institute, Canada's Fraser Institute and think tanks around the world. It uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking economies around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom.
Economic freedom is measured in the following five broad categories: (1) size of government; (2) legal structure and security of property rights; (3) access to sound money; (4) freedom to trade internationally; and (5) regulation of credit, labor and business.
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