Second on economic freedom

Lebanon ranks first on Size of Government, but lags behind on Legal Structure and Security of Property Rights

Lebanon ranked in second place among 16 countries in the ‘Economic Freedom in the Arab World 2011’ index published by Canada-based independent research organization, ‘Fraser Institute’.

The index measures 18 variables divided into five broad factors of economic freedom. The factors evaluate the size of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and the regulation of credit, labor, and business.

Lebanon received a score of 7.7 points on a scale of one to ten, higher than the Arab average of 6.9 points. Bahrain had the highest score of 8.0 points, while Kuwait and the UAE were tied with 7.6 points.

Lebanon ranked first on the Size of Government category, which reflects the small size of the government relative to its economy. It ranked in second place behind Kuwait on the Access to Sound Money category, which measures the extent that a nation's currency is sound and holds its value over time.

The country ranked in the 15th place on the Legal Structure and Security of Property Rights category.

It came in tenth place, behind Libya, on the Freedom to Trade Internationally category. The country ranked in fourth place, behind Oman and ahead of Kuwait, on the Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business measure.