PRESS RELEASE                                                      
January 17, 2008

Armenia’s 2008 Index of Economic Freedom Rank Once Again Puts it Ahead of Regional Trends,
and Above European Average Ranking

On January 11, 2008, the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal released its joint study of economic freedom and investment climate trends in the world, better known as the Index of Economic Freedom. Armenia’s rank of 28 out of 163 countries of the world is well above both the world and European average. The Index of Economic Freedom report on Armenia notes that “low tax rates, low government expenditure, and low revenue from state-owned businesses contribute to impressive fiscal and government freedom rankings. Inflation is low, and the banking sector is both wholly private and well regulated. Commercial regulations are flexible and relatively simple. Armenia's great strength is its investment climate, with few restrictions on foreign investment.”

Armenia’s economic freedom score ranks considerably higher than that of any CIS country or any of its regional neighbors. Thus, Georgia is ranked #32, Turkey #74, and Azerbaijan #107 in the same study.

The Index of Economic Freedom report on Armenia is available here.