HUMAN FREEDOM INDEX

Subject: International Report

Context: The Human Freedom Index 2020, a worldwide ranking of civil, economic and personal freedom, released recently placed India at the 111th spot out of 162 countries. India ranked 94 on the index in 2019.

Concept:

• India’s scored 6.30 out of 10 in personal freedom and 6.56 in economic freedom. The country’s overall human freedom score was 6.43.
• New Zealand, Switzerland and Hong Kong bagged the first three spots.
• The United States and United Kingdom are tied at the 17th spot on the index. War-torn Syria ranked the last on the list.
• The index put China at 129 rank, Bangladesh at 139 and Pakistan at 140.
• The index was published by American think tank Cato Institute and Fraser Institute in Canada. Fred McMahon and Ian Vásquez are the authors of the report.
• It takes into account 76 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms to rank 162 countries from 2008 to 2018.
• The institutes noted that the world has seen a notable decline in personal freedom since 2008.