Bulgaria has been ranked 76th out of 141 countries, whose levels of economic freedoms have been compared, according to a new study released by the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading economic think tank.

The Economic Freedom of the World: 2009 Annual Report shows Bulgaria sitting in 76th spot with a score of 6.741 out of 10, which is up by 0.07 points from the 2008 report.

The report ranks Hong Kong number one, followed by Singapore then New Zealand. Zimbabwe once again has the lowest level of economic freedom among the 141 jurisdictions included in the study, followed by Myanmar, Angola, and Venezuela. The 2009 report is based on data from 2007, the most recent year for which comprehensive data available.

The Economic Freedom of the World report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property.

Bulgaria scores in the five key components of economic freedom (from 1 to 10 where a higher value indicates a higher level of economic freedom) are the following: size of government - 4.7, legal structures and security of property rights - 5.3; access to sound money - 8.6; freedom to trade internationally - 7.8; regulation of credit, labor and business - 7.3.