Kathmandu, October 7
Nepal has dropped one place in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2026 Annual Report, released today by the Prosperity Foundation in collaboration with Canada’s Fraser Institute. Nepal ranks 90th out of 165 countries, down from 89th last year. This is the 19th consecutive year the foundation has released the report in Nepal.
Nepal scored 6.59 out of 10, up slightly from 6.58 in 2025. The raw data show its score has fully recovered from the Covid-19 dip, when it fell from 6.52 in 2019 to 6.31 in 2020.
Nepal’s rankings on the report’s five main indicators were mixed. On size of government, it fell from 49th (7.29) to 51st (7.25), and on legal system and property rights, it dropped from 91st (4.92) to 96th (4.82). On sound money, it slipped from 96th to 101st even though its score rose from 7.37 to 7.57. Nepal did improve on freedom to trade internationally, rising from 126th (6.21) to 117th (6.39), but fell on regulation from 37th (7.12) to 50th (6.90).
Of the 24 sub-indicators, Nepal improved on seven, declined on six and held steady on 11.
Hong Kong ranks first globally, followed by Switzerland, Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Ireland, Denmark, Australia and Mauritius. Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom share the final top-10 position. Venezuela ranks last. Among other countries, Japan is 13th, Germany 19th, France 39th, India 88th, China 110th and Russia 143rd.
According to the report, people in countries with higher economic freedom tend to be more prosperous and live longer. Countries in the top quartile had an average per capita income of $65,596 in 2024, compared with $9,552 in the bottom 20 percent.
