NIGERIA has been ranked 120th out of a total of 177 in the latest Index of Economic Freedom survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation.

Published annually, the index examines economic freedoms across the developing world and in the 2013 edition, after a slight improvement in previous years, Nigeria has slipped by 1.2 points and is regarded as mostly economically unfree. Also in the survey, sub-Saharan Africa’s overall level of economic freedom remains weak.

A majority of countries in the region either fall into the index‘s mostly unfree or repressed categories. Altogether, 15 of the world’s 33 repressed economies are in sub-Saharan Africa and 22 are in the next lowest category regarded as mostly unfree.

Sub-Saharan Africa is dead last in seven of 10 measures of economic freedom and collectively scores about 13 points behind average world scores in business freedom and more than 10 points behind in property rights and freedom from corruption. It is lags behind the world’s five other areas surveyed.

Thompson Ayodele, the director of initiative at the think-tank Public Policy Analysis, said: “Nigeria continues to ranks low in the Index of Economic Freedom because of the increasing role of government within the economy. Government spending has increased and we have continued to spend unearned money.

“Government borrowing has also crowded out private borrowing in the economy while debts owed-local contractors have ballooned. Ironically, government seems to think that more borrowing is the answer to our economic problem.

“The private sector, particularly small business, still remains the engine of growth in the economy and since the beginning of this administration, Nigeria has resorted to more borrowing while other loans are in the pipeline. We cannot borrow our ways to prosperity and should we continue in this trend, Nigeria is surely on the road to Greece.”

Mauritius remains in the top 10 in annual worldwide ranking and is the only one of 48 sub-Saharan countries to do so. Launched in 1995, the index evaluates countries in four broad areas of economic freedom, which include the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, limited government and open markets.

Source: Nigerian Watch