The Index of Economic Freedom evaluates 177 countries on a scale from 0 to 100 in 12 categories of economic freedom. Each country receives an overall score reflecting the average of the category scores. The average country’s score declined to 60, which is barely “moderately free,” just on the cusp of slipping into the “mostly unfree” category. The United States plummeted from 20th place in 2021 to 25th place in this year’s Index, its lowest ranking. The “fiscal health” score for the United States has dramatically deteriorated due to ballooning deficit spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) and rising debt as a percentage of GDP. https://www.heritage.org/trade/report/2022-index-economic-freedom-economic-freedom-declining-worldwide