Taiwan Today, Thursday 17 February 2022
Taiwan ranked sixth among 184 economies and achieved its best-ever score in the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom released on 14 February by Washington-headquartered think tank The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. With a total of 80.1 out of 100, 1.5 points higher than the 2021 edition, Taiwan finished third among 39 economies in the Asia-Pacific. It beat out South Korea (74.6), Japan (69.9), Malaysia (68.1), Thailand (63.2), and China (48).
Taiwan was classified as “free” along with six other nations: Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand, Luxembourg and Estonia. According to the index, Taiwan improved in four out of 12 benchmarks used to compile the rankings. The biggest gains were in judicial effectiveness and investment freedom, which rose 21.3 points and 10 points year on year respectively. The index attributed these outperformances to Taiwan’s independent judiciary and robust court system, as well as a well-developed investment framework facilitating capital and goods flow. The National Development Council said the report demonstrated the effectiveness of ongoing government efforts to further strengthen Taiwan’s economic climate.