Such indices, while the methodology can be debated, form part of how wealth managers and others can judge which jurisdictions are getting friendlier to market economics, private property rights and open trade, and which ones are falling behind. 

Switzerland is the world's most capitalist economy, followed by the US, Hong Kong, Canada and Singapore, according to a new index published by the University of Virginia.

The Global Capitalism Index (GCI) scores 161 countries on a scale of one to 100 and places Angola last. Luxembourg, Denmark, Australia, Sweden and Norway complete the top ten in the 2025 rankings.

Four of the top six, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Luxembourg, are among the main international centres for cross-border wealth management.

The rankings have shifted since 2009, when the data series began. Singapore led the index that year, with Hong Kong second. The UK, Ireland, Finland and the Netherlands were all in the top ten in 2009 and have since dropped out.

Across the full data set, the index shows a gradual reduction in capitalist conditions worldwide over 16 years. Regional divergence is widening, with Central Asia improving while Latin America and Western Europe have declined. Sierra Leone and Venezuela recorded the sharpest falls, down 23.9 and 23.2 points respectively. Zimbabwe and Algeria are among the most improved.

Capital markets and banking are the weakest pillars across all countries. Property rights are the factor that most separates high and low scorers.

The GCI draws on 242 data sets across 33 domains, compiled into eight subindices including property rights, market competition, labour market openness, banking system strength and the free flow of goods and capital. The data is weighted through principal components analysis, without subjective weightings, and will be updated annually. The project was led by the Democracy and Capitalism Lab at the university's Karsh Institute of Democracy and the Institute for Business in Society at its Darden School of Business.

Archetypes
The researchers group countries into four archetypes. Entrepreneurial economies, led by Switzerland, Hong Kong and the US, are strong in new business formation and market policy but weaker on property rights and capital flows. Corporate economies such as Japan and South Korea score well on capital markets and banking but poorly on competition, labour market freedom and business formation.

Institutional economies, led by Norway and Western Europe, are strong in the real economy but weak in banking and capital markets. Commercial economies are defined by the primacy of free capital flows and property rights, with Singapore and France cited as notable cases.