15 Freest Countries in Asia

Published on April 26, 2024 at 2:36 pm by Talha Qureshi in Business, Economy, Lists, News

In this article, we will look at the 15 freest countries in Asia. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to the 5 Freest Countries in Asia.

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines a wide range of basic human rights and freedoms, including the right to social security, liberty, economic liberty, and personal development. According to the Human Freedom Index 2023 by the Cato Institute, human freedom suffered greatly during COVID-19. Regarding population percentage, 89.8% of the world’s population witnessed a decrease in freedom from 2019 to 2021. Moreover, the report also highlights the unequal distribution of human freedom worldwide and finds only 13.8% of the world’s population living in the top quartile in terms of human freedom. Meanwhile, 37.6% of the world’s population lives in the bottom quartile of the human freedom index. To read more about the freest countries, you can read about the 25 Freest Countries In the World.

Economic Outlook of Asia

Asia remains one of the fastest growing economies in the world. According to the April 2024 report by the Asian Development Bank, the Asian economy is forecasted to grow by 4.9% in 2024 and 2025. Moreover, inflation is also projected to decrease to 3.2% and 3.0% in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The growth in the region is attributed to strong domestic demand, high consumption rates, and increased domestic investment. For Instance, Taiwan experienced strong economic growth in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023 due to the pick-up in domestic demand. On January 29, Reuters reported that the GDP of Taiwan is expected to have grown by 4.35% in Q4 2023, against the previous quarter’s growth of 2.32%. Moreover, the exports for the country also grew by 3.4% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2022. To read more about Asia, you can look at the 20 Most Diverse Countries in Asia.

The growth trends in Asia are diverse and vary across different subregions. On the one hand, the growth moderated in South and Southeast Asia from 6.6% and 5.7% in 2022 to 6.4% and 4.1% in 2023, respectively. On the other hand, growth in East Asia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia increased from 2.9% and 5.2% in 2022 to 4.7% and 5.3% in 2023. The diversity in the growth trends is mainly due to economic contractions and expansions within different countries. For Instance, the growth in East Asia is attributed to lifting pandemic mobility restrictions in China. In contrast, the contraction in South Asia is due to the stunted growth rates in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Key Companies Leading the Asian Economy

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM), JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD), and Mitsubishi Corporation (TYO:8058) are some of the leading players in Asia.

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) is a leading global automobile manufacturer based in Japan. The company engages in the designing, manufacturing, and sales of passenger vehicles, especially cars. Moreover, the company has an operational presence in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. On April 14, Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) announced the launch of the all-new Land Cruiser 250 series in Japan. The new Land Cruiser 250 series is designed to provide easy handling and a strong off-roading experience. Along with the launch of this new model, the company has also released special ZX’ first edition’ and VX’ first edition’ models. The sales of these special edition models are limited to 8,000 units only.

JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) is an online retailer that sells electronic products and other general products internationally. The company also provides warehouse management services through warehouses, cross-border shipments, and cold-chain delivery services. On March 6, JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) announced earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023. The company reported earnings per share of $0.74, ahead of market consensus by $0.11. Moreover, the company’s revenue for the quarter amounted to $42.5 billion and surpassed market expectations by $914.80 million. Here are some comments from JD.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:JD) earnings call for Q4 2023:

As announced in our earnings press release, our Board has approved our 2024 annual cash dividend payment, the aggregate amount of USD 1.2 billion, a meaningful increase compared to 2023. The Board has also approved a new share repurchase program of USD 3 billion over the next 36 months. We are committed to creating more value for our shareholders. To conclude, 2023 was a year of strategically focused and organizational upgrades, which have set the foundation for JD. 2024 will be a year of execution along the strategic road map that is in place. We will continue to build upon the good foundation in user experience, more price offerings and platform ecosystem strategy and will further build up our total capabilities in supply chain. With the market share and user experience at top of mind, we are confident in making steady progress this year.

Mitsubishi Corporation (TYO:8058) is a leading global integrated business company that operates businesses via its global network of approximately 1,800 group companies. Mitsubishi Corporation (TYO:8058) is based in Japan and has an operational presence around the globe. On April 16, Mitsubishi Corporation (TYO:8058) announced its participation in the Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal Project to advance Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies. Under this collaboration, Mitsubishi Corporation (TYO:8058) will work with multiple third-party DAC companies to develop innovative technology that will lower the cost and result in the early commercialization of DAC.

With this context, let’s take a look at the 15 freest countries in Asia. You can also take a look at the 15 freest countries in Africa.

15 Freest Countries in Asia

Our Methodology

To curate the list of the 15 freest countries in Asia, we relied on 3 global freedom indexes, including Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Report 2024, Cato Institute’s Human Freedom Index 2023, and Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom 2024. We first created our Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking using the above mentioned sources. To compile our index, we calculated the percentile of each country in the respective ranks. The percentiles were calculated as the total number of countries covered by each index was unequal. Once we had the percentile rank of each country for all three indices, we averaged them and ranked the countries accordingly. Lastly, we shortlisted Asian countries from our world freedom ranking and ranked the countries in ascending order of their Insider Monkey global freedom ranking.

Please also note that we have included population figures and GDP growth rates for each country sourced from the IMF.

15 Freest Countries in Asia

15. Kazakhstan

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 162

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 104

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 66

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 120

Kazakhstan is a Central Asian country with a population of 20.08 million and a GDP growth rate of 3.1% in 2024. It ranks as the 15th freest country in Asia, with an Insider Monkey world freedom ranking of 120.

14. Nepal

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 100

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 85

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 129

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 118

Nepal is a South Asian Country that ranks 14th on our list of freest countries in Asia. It has a population of 31.62 million in 2024 and a GDP growth rate of 3.1% in 2024.

13. Philippines

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 107

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 103

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): N/A

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 115

The Philippines, a Southeast Asian country, ranks 13th on our list of the 15 freest countries in Asia. Its GDP is growing at 6.2% in 2024, and the country has a population of 114.16 million.

12. Thailand

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 140

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 88

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 87

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 114

Thailand is another Southeast Asian country with a GDP growth rate of 2.7% and a population of 70.27 million in 2024. The country ranks as the 12th freest country in Asia on our list.

11. Bhutan

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 98

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 87

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 108

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 107

Bhutan is a small South Asian Country with a population of 0.78 million. It has a GDP growth rate of 4.3% in 2024 and ranks as the 11th freest country in Asia.

10. Timor-Leste

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 80

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 64

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 143

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 105

Timor-Leste ranks 10th on our list. It is a Southeast Asian country with a population of 1.37 million as of 2024. Moreover, the country has a GDP growth rate of 3.5% in 2024.

9. Indonesia

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 110

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 92

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 53

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 93

Indonesia, a Southeast Asian country, ranks 9th on our list of freest countries in Asia. It has a GDP growth rate of 5% in 2024. Moreover, Indonesia is a large country with approximately 279.96 million population as of 2024.

8. Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China)

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 134

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 46

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): N/A

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 90

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China and ranks as the 8th freest country in Asia. It has an Insider Monkey world freedom ranking of 90 and is a country with 7.59 million population as of 2024.

7. Malaysia

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 115

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 89

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 45

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 86

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country ranking 7th on our list of freest countries in Asia. The country has a population of 33.46 million as of 2024 and a GDP growth rate of 4.4%.

6. Mongolia

Freedom House Ranking (2024): 55

Human Freedom Ranking (2023): 59

Economic Freedom Ranking (2024): 75

Insider Monkey World Freedom Ranking: 70

Mongolia ranks 6th on our list. It is an East Asian country with a population of 3.55 million as of 2024. Moreover, the country has a GDP growth rate of 6.5%.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Freest Countries in Asia.