Georgia ranked 35th globally in the 2026 Economic Freedom Index, published by the The Heritage Foundation. The country’s overall score rose slightly to 69.6, an increase of 0.6 points compared to the previous year but the improvement was not enough to change its position in the global ranking.
The index evaluates countries across several indicators, including property rights, government effectiveness, fiscal policy, and business, financial and trade freedom, to measure the degree of economic freedom. Georgia’s economy is classified as ‘moderately free.’
Despite the modest improvement in 2026, Georgia’s score remains well below its 2021 level of 76 points when the country ranked 12th worldwide. The decline in recent years has been linked to weaker institutional indicators, including property rights, judicial effectiveness, governance quality and reduced business and financial freedom.
From 2012 to 2022, Georgia consistently maintained scores above 70 points but the index has remained below that level since 2023.
The latest report shows mixed performance across the index’s components.
- Property rights: 53 (down from 62.3)
- Government effectiveness: 9 (+1)
- Judicial effectiveness: 8 (-1.5)
- Tax burden: 8 (-1.3)
- Business freedom: 6 (-1.5)
- Labor freedom: 64 (+0.5)
- Monetary freedom: 2 (+4.9)
- Trade freedom: 8 (+0.6)
- Investment freedom: 60 (unchanged)
- Financial freedom: 60 (unchanged)
One of the most notable improvements was in fiscal health which increased significantly from 75.9 to 89.1, reflecting a reduction in the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio.
Within the region, Georgia remains ahead of several neighboring countries.
- Armenia scored 1, ranking 52nd
- Azerbaijan scored 3, ranking 67th
- Turkey scored 55, ranking 117th
- Russia scored 3, ranking 145th
Globally, the top positions in the index are held by Singapore with 84.4 points, followed by Switzerland (83.7) and Ireland (83.3).
At the bottom of the ranking are North Korea (3.1), Cuba (25.2) and Venezuela (27.3).
Overall, the report suggests that while Georgia continues to outperform regional peers, institutional weaknesses and governance challenges remain key factors affecting its economic freedom score.
