Analytics, Economics, EU – Baltic States, Markets and Companies, Rating

Lithuania is well ahead of neighboring Latvia (36th) or Poland (39th) but behind Estonia, whose economy is ranked the ninth freest in the world, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LLRI) said in a press release on Monday.

The freest world’s economies include Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.

According to the LLRI, international experts praise Lithuania for streamlining business start-up procedures but criticize the country for government spending and inflexible labor relations. Improvements in Lithuania’s overall score are supported by the European Union’s (EU) factor, which, in the view of international experts, contributes to stability, the rule of law and openness of foreign trade. Also, experts note facilitation in business registration procedures and a positive contribution from the adoption of the euro.

At the same time, experts point out to almost non-existent progress in government spending and rank the country 106 th in the world in this category. Also, Lithuania ranks 40th in the world in terms of freedom from corruption and is 96 th in terms of labor freedom.