Pacific Nations Dominate Top-Ranking Economically Free Countries

Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland

For the past decade, the Heritage Foundation, which considers itself "Washington's number one think tank," in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, has published its annual Index of Economic Freedom. The index draws its inspiration from economist Adam Smith and references his book "The Wealth of Nations" to try and measure his theories concerning "liberty, prosperity and economic freedom." Below are the top five countries from its influential 2012 ranking.