JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's official marketing company Brand South Africa on Monday welcomed the country's improvement in the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom recently released by Heritage Foundation.
The 2018 report showed that South Africa landed a world rank of 77 out of 180 countries in terms of economic freedom, making it fourth in the African region. Its overall economic freedom score improved by 0.7 from 2017.
"Notable improvements for South Africa in 2018 include the improvement in the area of investment freedom and judicial effectiveness," said Petrus de Kock, Brand South Africa General Manager for research.
He stated that the index provides some insight into dimensions of the South African economic environment as the country continues to grapple with historical challenges. He pointed out that South Africa need to improve on entrepreneurship and innovation.
De Kock said, "We are pleased with the upward trend of the nation's competitive performance, particularly since 2018 saw a declining global competitiveness of the economy."
South Africa also saw improvements in the property rights, judicial effectiveness, fiscal health, business freedom and labor freedom. It also advanced in investment freedom.
The Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom provides insight into the extent to which governments enable an open and unrestricted economic environment for citizens and businesses to operate in.
