The report published Thursday, based on information from 2018, shows Nepal lost 0.09 points in the score of the preceding year to and it now stands at 6.76. In the report published in 2019, its ranking was 87.
The index is a worldwide ranking of civil, economic and personal freedom.
The index uses 0 to 10 scale to measure the level of freedom in countries across the world and is based different indicators under the personal, economic and human freedom categories and these include the rule of law, safety and security, identity and relationship and freedom of movement, speech, assembly and religion alongside economic freedom, the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions without interference.
The annual report being published since 2008 covers 162 countries representing 94 percent of the world’s population.
Nepal’s overall score on human freedom index is 6.76. Nepal has scored 7.03 points on personal freedom and 6.48 points on economic freedom. Nepal fares poorly in rule of law with just 4.3 points and in the legal system, which includes impartial courts and judicial independence, with 4.8 points, according to the report.
The report suggests that freedom plays an important role in human well-being, and they offer opportunities for further research into the complex ways in which freedom influences, and can be influenced by, political regimes, economic development, and the whole range of indicators of human well-being.
It also shows that people in freer countries are more prosperous than those in less-free countries.
“When people are free, they have more opportunity to prosper and lead happier healthier lives,” Ian Vásquez, report co-author and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, was quoted as saying in the report.
Nepal ranks first among South Asian countries followed by Sri-Lanka (94), Bhutan (108) and India (111) respectively. The lowest ranked South Asian nation is Pakistan at 140.
New Zealand and Switzerland rank first and second respectively while Sudan and Syrian Arab Republic occupy the last two spots.
18.12°C Kathmandu
