Chile's economy is ranked 8th at the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom

The 2008 Index of Economic Freedom released this month by the Heritage Foundation states that Chile's economy is 79.8 percent free, which makes it the world's 8th freest economy scoring 0.8 percentage point higher than last year, mainly due to an improved investment climate. After this report Chile is ranked 3rd out of 29 countries in the Americas, only after United States and Canada.

The index covers 162 countries across 10 specific factors of economic freedoms: trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom, fiscal freedom, government size, monetary freedom, financial freedom, property rights, freedom from corruption and labor freedom.

According to this assessment, Chile is a regional economic power and scores higher than average in all 10 areas of economic freedom, especially investment freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. The publication says that “Foreign investment is a cornerstone of Chile's strong growth, and allowing easy repatriation is an attraction to inbound capital. Overall, the rule of law is remarkably transparent and impartial”.

To read this information please visit the Heritage Foundation's website at http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index