2013 Index of Economic Freedom - East Africa and the Horn

For more than a decade, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington-based think tank, The Heritage Foundation, have published an annual ranking called the Index of Economic Freedom.  It ranks countries globally based on social and economic values such as per capita income, economic growth rates, human development, democracy, the elimination of poverty, and environmental protection.  The 2013 edition ranked 177 countries with Hong Kong ranked best and North Korea ranked worst.  It ranked the United States #10.  Click here to access the global rankings.

Countries in East Africa and the Horn did not fare well.  Only one--Uganda--was included in the "moderately free" category and ranked number 79.  In the "mostly unfree" category were Tanzania (#98), Kenya (#114), and Djibouti (#127).  Ethiopia, ranked #146, and Eritrea, ranked #173, were in the "repressed" category.  Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia were not ranked.