Om ekonomisk frihet i världen

The Heritage Foundation har rankat världens länder efter ekonomisk frihet enligt ett poängsystem (se rutan intill), som också beskrivs på deras sajt. Bland de mest ekonomiskt fria länderna återfinns HongKong (1), Singapore (2), Irland (3), Storbritannien (5), Estland (6), Danmark (7) och Finland (13). Nästsist på FREE-listan (se ovan), ett snäpp före sista landet inom den kategorin, Tyskland, ligger Sverige (19). Allra sist ligger, inte oväntat: Nordkorea. Strax ovanför Nordkorea ligger Iran, Burma, Zimbabwe och Libyen, som alla kategoriseras som "repressed" (förtryckta, kuvade).

När det gäller hur mycket regeringen lägger sig i (Government Intervention) ligger Sverige lite halvdåligt till med en poäng på 3.0. The Heritage Foundation skriver:

Based on data from the Economist Intelligence Unit, the government consumed 27.8 percent of GDP in 2004. In the same year, based on data from the Ministry of Finance, Sweden received 5.1 percent of its total revenues from state-owned enterprises and government ownership of property.

Om skattetrycket i Sverige (3.6 poäng) står att läsa:

"According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Sweden's income tax burden is one of the heaviest among the world's industrialized economies: a 60 percent top income tax rate. The top corporate tax rate is 28 percent. In 2004, government expenditures as a share of GDP decreased 1.5 percentage points to 57.1 percent, compared to a 0.3 percentage point increase in 2003. On net, Sweden's fiscal burden of government score is 0.3 point better this year."

Finland ligger något bättre till vad gäller "Government Intervention" med en poäng på 2,5. Så här skriver The Heritage Foundation om Finland:

"According to Finland's Statistics Bureau, the government consumed 22.4 percent of GDP in 2004. In 2003, based on data from the same source, Finland received 2.73 percent of its total revenues from state-owned enterprises and government ownership of property."

Och så här om skattetrycket i Finland, som får poängen 3.0:

"According to Deloitte, Finland's top income tax rate is 33.5 percent, down from the 35.5 percent reported in the 2005 Index. Effective January 2005, the top corporate tax rate was cut to 26 percent, down from the 29 percent reported in the 2005 Index. In 2004, government expenditures as a share of GDP fell 0.2 percentage point to 50.7 percent, compared to a 0.9 percentage point increase in 2003. On net, Finland's fiscal burden of government score is 0.5 point better this year."

Läs hela listan och mer om hur statistiken gjordes här!