Luys Foundation: Armenia improves ranking in Economic Freedom Index,  but still lags behind  in Property Rights and Justice Effectiveness  indicators

ArmInfo.Armenia ranked 52nd in the Index of Economic Freedom among 176 countries (compared to 57th the previous year),  according to  the Heritage Foundation Research Center.  As reported by the Luys Foundation, Armenia's economic freedom score was 67.1.

According to the Index of Economic Freedom methodology, in 2026 (for the fifth consecutive year), Armenia will be classified as a country with a "moderately free" economy. In 2017, the country was classified as "mostly free." In the Europe regional group, Armenia ranks 28th out of 44 countries. Its score is 1.8 points below the regional average.

Of the 12 indicators (sub-indices), Armenia is classified as "free" in two, "mostly free" in six, "mostly not free" in two, and "not free" in two. The latter include "Property Rights" and "Effectiveness of the Legal System." According to the source, Armenia's scores are significantly below the global average.

Both sub-indices belong to the "Rule of Law" group. Armenia's position in this group remains the weakest of all the index components, as the third indicator in the group, "Government Integrity," is also among the three lowest of all 12 sub-indices. The first "unfree" sub-index, "Property Rights," is calculated based on factors such as the risk of expropriation of private property, protection of intellectual property rights, and enforcement of contracts and laws. Compared to previous year, it has significantly decreased, indicating a noticeable deterioration in this area.

The second sub-index, "Judicial Effectiveness," is calculated as the average of the "independence of the judicial system," "quality of judicial procedures," and "perception of the quality of public services and independence of the civil service." Its extremely low level indicates serious issues in these areas. It is worth noting that the weakness of the judicial system has been cited for several years as a key constraint on economic freedom in Armenia.

The "Labor Freedom" sub-index, which is part of the "Regulatory Efficiency" group, has remained unchanged from last year. This raises questions, especially considering given statements by senior officials about significant growth in labor productivity, a key component of this indicator. "At the same time, the remaining parameters used in calculating the sub-index and enshrined in law have also remained unchanged during the period under review," the Luys Foundation noted.