Bulgaria ranks 60th in the latest Index of Economic Freedom which was released on Monday.

The index is published annually by The Wall Street Journal and the Washington-based Heritage Foundation think-tank.

The overall score of Bulgaria is 65.9, the country recording a decrease of 0.9 point compared to the previous edition of the index.

The economic freedom status of the country is identified as moderately free.

The country ranks 28th in Europe, with its score being above the world average, but below the European average.

According to the compilers of the index, Bulgaria made notable successes in the management of public finance and regulatory efficiency, but there are concerns as regards property rights and corruption.

Corruption is identified as a main problem in Bulgaria, with corrupt and inconsistent public administration, weak judiciary and organised crime hampering the economic prospects of the country, while property rights are not protected well.

The editors of the index argue that launching a business is now less time-consuming and note that the minimum capital requirement has been eliminated.

The index notes that in 2015 the government began to reduce subsidies to the largely state-owned, loss making energy sector.

According to the authors, the relatively weak regulatory and judicial systems may deter foreign investment.

Bulgaria improved its scores on freedom from corruption, fiscal freedom, but declined in government spending, business freedom, labour freedom and monetary freedom.

It retained its scores on property rights, trade freedom, investment freedom and financial freedom.

Hong Kong retained its top ranking, while North Korea is at the bottom.

The index covers four broad policy areas encompassing ten freedoms ranging from property rights to entrepreneurship.

A total of 186 countries are featured in the latest edition of the index which covers the period between mid-2014 and mid-2015.

The latest issue identifies the world economy as moderately free, with economic liberty increasing for the fourth consecutive year.

The world average score of 60.7 is the highest ever achieved in the 22 editions of the index.

Scores have improved in 97 countries and declined in 74 states.