Hong Kong remains world’s freest economy as Switzerland overtakes Singapore - South China Morning Post

William YiuPublished: 5:36pm, 6 Oct 2026Updated: 7:21pm, 6 Oct 2026Hong Kong has retained its status as the world’s freest economy in the latest annual ranking by a top Canadian think tank, although its score has declined in recent years.

Switzerland overtook Singapore to claim second place in 2026, pushing the city state down to third in the league table released by the Fraser Institute on Tuesday.

The Economic Freedom of the World report, compiled by the Vancouver-based public policy research organisation using data from 2024, ranked Hong Kong first among 165 jurisdictions.

“Despite a precipitous decline in economic freedom since 2018, Hong Kong remained the world’s most economically free jurisdiction in 2024, the latest year for which we have data,” the think tank said.