Bulgaria Ranks 20th in EU In Terms of Economic Freedom

Bulgaria ranks 20^th in the EU in terms of economic freedom according to the annual report Economic Freedom of the World drafted by the Fraser Institute, compared to last year when the country ranked 15^th.

The report is based on data for 2014 which is the last year with available and comparable data for all included countries. Bulgaria shares the 45^th position together with Israel, Mongolia and Nicaragua with 7.39 points out of a possible 10.

In the category Government Size, there is a small change of 0.01 points, compared to the previous year. The improvement is in terms of government expenditures but these still remain the lowest ranking element in the category. On the other hand, the best ranking element in the category with 10 points is taxation due to the existence of a flat tax in Bulgaria.

In the category Judicial System and Right to Property, the results are the worst for the country and, despite a small improvement of 0.12 points, Bulgaria only has 5.05 points.

Out of the five categories, this is the category with the least improvement, compared to 2005, which proves the failure of the judicial reform and the lack of independence of the judicial system.

In the category Stable Money, the country scores a regular high of 9.24 points. This proves that the country boasts low and stable inflation rates, and does not limit the exchange of foreign currency

In the category Freedom of International Trade, Bulgaria has 8.02 points. Bulgaria’s membership in the EU is important for the good result in terms of customs duties and lack of trade barriers

In the category Regulation of Credit, Labour and Business, there has been deterioration in all 3 segments of regulation. The main obstacles to economic freedom are: intervention in the credit market, expensive bureaucracy, multiple administrative requirements for businesses, the existence of a minimum monthly wage, corruption and multiple regulations for the laying off and hiring of workers.

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