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About the Center

The Freedom and Prosperity Center aims to increase the well-being of people everywhere and especially that of the poor and marginalized in developing countries through unbiased, data-based research on the relationship between prosperity and economic, political, and legal freedoms, in support of sound policy choices.

The Center analyzes some of the defining questions of our time and of all time. Do countries need freedom to achieve prosperity? Do democracies or autocracies have the better answers to the aspirations of the peoples of the world? What about countries that are not electoral democracies in the Western sense, but have high levels of economic and legal freedoms and leaders who appear to enjoy a high level of legitimacy among their citizens?

Central to answering these questions are the Freedom and Prosperity Indexes. The indexes measure the freedom and prosperity, respectively, of nearly every country in the world.

Interactive Indexes Website

The indexes rank 164 countries around the world according to their levels of freedom and prosperity. Use our award-winning site to explore 28 years of data, compare countries and regions, and examine the sub-indexes and indicators that comprise our indexes.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Collection of Essays

Thirty scholars and political leaders from twelve countries have contributed seventeen essays to this volume. They make the case that durable prosperity is achieved in countries with economic, political, and legal freedom.

ANNUAL REPORT

The 2023 Freedom and Prosperity Indexes measure the distribution of freedom and prosperity in 164 countries. The report explores the relationship between the two and identifies global and regional trends over the last twenty-eight years.

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Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUqYdrNySwI

Annual Research Conference

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Featured Media

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the economic bloc known as BRICS, convened for their annual summit in August. Ahead of the summit, James Storen breaks down the performance of these countries in the 2023 Freedom and Prosperity Indexes. Freedom has declined in all BRICS countries, which has slowed down their progress in achieving prosperity.
Mircea Geoană, Deputy Secretary General of NATO, and Dan Negrea discuss the path to freedom and prosperity in post-communist Eastern Europe. Kelley E. Currie, former US Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council and alternative representative to the UN General Assembly, delivered opening remarks.
At the first annual Freedom and Prosperity Research Conference, panelists discussed factors such as the role of innovation, the debate between free markets versus authoritarian economies, and the role of political freedoms in ensuring freedom and prosperity. Panelists cited real world examples in Eastern Europe and China as evidence for their claims.  

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