Iraq’s Absence in the 2025 Global Economic Freedom Index
Iraq has been excluded from the Global Index for Economic Freedom for 2025 for the second consecutive year, as reported by the Heritage Foundation. The primary reason cited by economic experts is the country’s insufficient data regarding labor freedom, government spending, and financial health.
The most recent report from the Heritage Foundation assessed the economic policies and conditions of 184 nations between July 2023 and June 30, 2024. Out of these, 176 countries were classified, with three achieving the highest level of economic freedom by securing scores of 80 points or more. Furthermore, 26 nations were identified as "mostly free," scoring between 70 and 79.9 points, while 58 countries fell into the "somewhat free" category, with scores ranging from 69.9 to 60 points.
Conversely, 89 nations scored below 60 points, indicating a non-free economy. This group includes countries like China and Iran, which are categorized under economic repression. Eight nations were omitted from the classification entirely due to the absence of institutional data, with Iraq being noted for the lack of reliable information.
The Economic Freedom Index evaluates twelve indicators across four principal dimensions, which are scored from 0 to 100 to gauge a nation’s economic performance:
- Rule of Law (including property rights, government integrity, and judicial effectiveness),
- Size of Government (covering government spending, tax burden, and financial health),
- Regulatory Efficiency (which assesses business freedom, labor freedom, and monetary freedom),
- Open Markets (encompassing trade, investment, and financial freedom).
According to the findings, Iraq is listed among eight countries that were not classified in the global economic freedom report for 2025 due to unreliable data. The countries alongside Iraq include Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Liechtenstein, Ukraine, and Yemen.
Global and Regional Rankings
On a global scale, Singapore leads the 2025 Economic Freedom Index with a score of 84.1, followed closely by Switzerland at 83.7, and Ireland at 83.1. Taiwan holds the fourth position at 79.7, with New Zealand rounding out the top five at 78.9.
In the Arab world, the United Arab Emirates claims the top spot with 71.6 points, followed by Qatar with 70.2 points, Bahrain with 65.6 points, Oman with 65.4 points, and Saudi Arabia with 64.4 points.
Roots of Iraq’s Exclusion
Economist Muhammad Al-Hassani asserts that the lack of governmental transparency is a critical factor leading to Iraq’s exclusion from the classification. He highlighted the scarcity of accurate data pertaining to property rights, financial health, labor freedom, government spending, and monetary freedom—key variables necessary for assessing a country’s economic freedom.
The Heritage Foundation, established in 1973 and headquartered in Washington, DC, is a prominent conservative research institution. It focuses on public policy studies, particularly in economics, defense, and foreign affairs, and advocates for the principles of free markets, limited government, and traditional values. The Foundation publishes the Economic Freedom Index annually, offering insights into the openness of economies based on foundational criteria such as the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and market openness.
