OREANDA-NEWS. January 20, 2014. Estonia has risen two places in the Index of Economic Freedom compiled each year by the Heritage Foundation think tank and the Wall Street Journal.

In rising from 13th to 11th, Estonia nipped the US, which meanwhile fell from 10th to 12th. It was the first time in 20 years the US was not in the top 10, and Estonia's gains came partly in the same areas in which the US declined.

"[Estonia's] overall score is 0.6 point higher than last year, with improvements in property rights and trade freedom offsetting a small combined decline in business freedom and the management of public spending. Estonia is ranked 4th out of 43 countries in the Europe region and its overall score is well above the regional and world averages," said the report.

In Europe, only Switzerland, Ireland and Denmark received a higher score than did Estonia.