The country's economy is 69.7 percent free, which is 1.5 points better than last year and remains above the regional average. The annual index report, which Heritage Foundation compiles in collaboration with the Wall Street Journal, however shows the country remains second out of 46 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region despite the improvement.Despite the improvement in overall business climate, the Heritage Foundation says Botswana could improve its relatively weak scores in trade freedom and freedom from corruption.
"The Public Enterprise Evaluation and Privatisation Agency (PEEPA) was created to drive privatisation, but it lacks effective legal authority, and progress has been limited."
Botswana lost points in corruption freedom, which is perceived as present. Last year the country ranked 37th as compared to 38th out of 179 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2007.The annual Index on Economic Freedom ranking is based on factors such as starting a business, inflation, consumer freedom, free trade, financial and investment markets, and the size of government.
