STAFF REPORT KHI: Pakistans economy is mostly unfree as people are not empowered enough to work, produce, consume, own, trade and invest as per their personal choices.
According to a recent study conducted by a leading Washington-based think tank, Heritage Foundation, Pakistan ranks 121st among 178 countries of the world when it comes to economic freedom.
The index categorises countries in five groups: free, mostly free, moderately free, mostly unfree and repressed. Pakistan ranks in the second last category with the likes of Nigeria (120), Kenya (122), India (128) and Bangladesh (131).
“Pakistan has privatised some state-run industries, but the economy is still heavily regulated, and poor security discourages foreign investment,” the Foundation said in its brief commentary on the state of economic freedom in Pakistan.
Pakistans score went up by 0.4 points over the last year, which is reflective of improvement in the categories of investment freedom and freedom from corruption. However, these improvements are counter-balanced by deteriorations in labour freedom and business freedom.
With its overall score below the world and regional averages, Pakistan is ranked 25th among 42 countries of the Asia-Pacific region.