Georgia among top 20 in Europe with Economic Freedom Index

The Heritage Foundation has published the 2026 Economic Freedom Index, placing Georgia among top 20 countries in Europe with economic freedom.

The annual report shows that Georgia’s ranking has increased by 0.6 points compared to last year and earned a freedom score of 69.6, ranking 35th globally with the Economic Freedom Index.

Georgia also ranked 20th out of 44 countries in the European region.

The country's economic freedom score is higher than the global and regional averages. According to the 2026 index, Georgia's economy is considered moderately free.

The report noted that despite external and political challenges, the Georgian economy was performing relatively well in key areas of economic policy. The government implemented reforms to improve regulatory efficiency and maintain an open market policy and low tax rates.

Georgia outperforms all EU candidate countries, as well as 16 EU and NATO member states with economic freedom. These countries are: Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria, Malta, Albania, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain, Romania, France, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Turkey.

According to the global survey, Georgia’s rule of law was rated positively.

“The rule of law is relatively well protected in Georgia. The country’s property rights score is above the world average; its judicial effectiveness score is above the world average; and its government integrity score is above the world average”, the report noted.

As for the assessment of the integrity of governments, Georgia in this case also outperforms all EU candidate countries and 12 EU and NATO member states.

The integrity of governments was assessed using the following criteria:

Perceptions of corruption
Risk of bribery
Control of corruption including capture of the state by elites and private interests. (Control of corruption, including capture of the state by elites and private interests)

The research methodology emphasised that the indicator aimed to analyze the freedom of countries from such vicious sides as bribery, extortion, nepotism, cronyism, patronage, embezzlement, embezzlement.

This indicator of the Heritage Foundation is based on profile studies of various analytical centers: Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index, TRACE International, The Trace Matrix, World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators.