Hong Kong remained the freest jurisdiction in the world in 2012 while Asia-Pacific nations such as Australia, Singapore and New Zealand featured in the top-ten rankings for economic liberty as listed by the CATO Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank.

The poll highlights how some of the most vibrant, pro-market economies are now in Asia, with the US, often regarded as the symbol of laissez-faire capitalism, actually only managing 18^th place. Even so, China, now the world’s second-biggest economy, is still seen as a heavily-regulated economy, with an index ranking of 107^th place, while India, another of the BRICs, is in 111^th place.