South Africa drops to 87 in global economic freedom ranking

Polity Audio Articles · Oct 6, 2026 · 2m

South Africa drops to 87 in global economic freedom ranking

South Africa has ranked eighty-seventh out of 165 countries and territories in the 'Economic Freedom of the World: 2026 Annual Report' (EFW), published by the Free Market Foundation (FMF) in conjunction with Canada's Fraser Institute.

The latest ranking reflects a further decline for South Africa, which previously hovered at eighty-third place, signalling an ongoing erosion of economic liberty.

With an overall absolute score of 6.63 out of ten, the data confirms that South Africa's economic freedom has been on a slow, downward trend…