When writing about which jurisdictions have the most economic freedom or best tax regimes, I’ve sometimes groused that it would be very interesting if small micro-states were included.

Lo and behold, some group called Factum Research has produced the Hayek Socialism Index and answered my wishes.

It turns out that Liechtenstein and Monaco are ranked second and third in the world for having the most economic liberty/least socialism. And Andorra (#6) and San Marino (#11) also get very good scores.

Here are the 20 best jurisdictions, led by Hong Kong (remember, this is a measure of economic liberty, not political freedom).

I’m disappointed the United States is not on this list. Indeed, the USA isn’t even in the top 25. We rank #27, between South Korea and Israel.

But I’m not surprised by America’s sub-par ranking since here have been big-government presidents (Bush, Obama, Biden, and Trump) this century.

Speaking of bad news, you probably won’t be surprised to see the worst (i.e., most socialist) nations in the world.

Congrats to North Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Iran for being so terrible.

I’ll close by doing something I’ve never done before. I’m going to defend France. Normally I complain about French statism, but I definitely don’t think that France is one of the 20 worst nations in the world for big government and socialism.

But no index is perfect, not even very well established measures such as Economic Freedom of the World or Index of Economic Freedom, so it’s not a big deal.

P.S. I’m still hoping some group will produce rankings that include selected British territories – most notably Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.