Slovakia dropped seven places to 49th out of 165 countries in the Economic Freedom of the World 2025 index, published by Canada’s Fraser Institute. Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand lead the ranking. The Slovak Institute for Freedom and Entrepreneurship, which partnered on the report, released the results based on 2023 data.
Among neighbours, the Czech Republic ranked 29th and Austria 33rd, while Hungary placed 61st and Poland 76th. Slovakia’s weakest score was in “size of government” category, where it ranked 108th, reflecting high public spending, taxes, and state involvement. It placed 40th for legal system and property rights, 67th for monetary stability, 57th for regulation of business, labour, and finance, and 29th for freedom of international trade, benefiting from EU membership and an open economy.
Institute head Ján Oravec warned Slovakia is losing competitiveness due to increasing regulation and weaknesses in the legal system.
Globally, economic freedom has declined since 2020, erasing over a decade of progress. The report links the drop to the pandemic, wars, inflation, and protectionism, warning it could slow growth and worsen poverty and living standards.
Source: TASR
