The 2023 Human Freedom Index (HFI) listed Taiwan as the freest country in Asia and ranked it 12th on the global scale. That’s according to the U.S. Think Tank Cato Institute which published the report together with Canada’s Fraser Institute on Tuesday.
Defined by the absence of coercive constraints, human freedom is a social concept that recognizes the dignity of the individual. In the report, it was noted that human freedoms have deteriorated significantly following the Covid-19 pandemic. Declining trends were observed in many areas such as in the rule of law and in the freedom of movement, expression, association, assembly, and the freedom to trade.
Switzerland retained the title of the country with the highest human freedom index, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, and Ireland, with Estonia and Sweden tied for 5th place. Iceland, Luxembourg, Finland and Norway ranked 7th to 10th, respectively. While Taiwan ranked 12th globally, it was number one in Asia. Japan ranked 16th, South Korea ranked 28th, and China ranked 149th in the Human Freedom Index among 165 jurisdictions, with the lowest being Syria.
In terms of region, the highest levels of freedom are found in North America, Western Europe and Oceania. Whereas the lowest levels of freedom are found in the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The Human Freedom Index presents the state of human freedom based on 86 different indicators including personal, civil and economic freedom and covers 98.8% of the world’s population.
