Macedonia is ranked in 43rd place in the annual economic freedom index of the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, published on Tuesday which lists 186 countries overall.

Albania is in 54th place, while Bulgaria is in 61st place, Romania 62nd, Montenegro 68th, Slovenia 74th and Croatia is in 87th place.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is in 101st place and Greece in 119th place. Kosovo’s economy is not graded in the 2014 Index due to insufficient data.

Macedonia’s relatively high ranking in the list is largely attributed to the success of the banking sector, which has weathered the global financial crisis relatively well.

On the other hand, the report says, “systemic weaknesses persist, however, in the protection of property rights and enforcement of anti-corruption measures”.

Serbia is ranked 37th out of 43 European countries and in 95th overall position in the list, with an overall score below the world and regional averages.

“In the 2014 Index, Serbia has achieved its highest economic freedom score ever. Despite significant progress in a few areas, however, it continues to lag in promoting the effective rule of law. Implementation of deeper institutional reform remains critical,” the Heritage Foundation said on its website.

In four of the 10 economic freedoms, including investment, business and monetary freedom, Serbia has advanced.

However, declines were recorded in Serbia’s control of government spending, and in fiscal business and trade freedom.

Croatia is the only country in the region whose position has dropped in the index compared to 2013, when it was in XXX position.

According to the report, “Croatia’s rule of law has deteriorated and remains fragile, undermined by substantial continuing corruption”, and it needs deeper systemic reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary.

Hong Kong has the highest index in the world, followed by Singapore and Australia.