



The annual surveys Economic Freedom of the World and Index of Economic Freedom are two indices which attempt to measure the degree of economic freedom of a nation. For years, relatively boring reports have clearly shown a direct correlation between economic freedom and per capita income, growth rates, and life expectancy.





Now the main ranking in the reports have been overlayed on a world map. The results are compelling:



Comparing a map of economic freedom to nighttime satellite photos reveals that in general the citizens that live in nations which have had economic freedom for a long time, tend to enjoy a far greater degree of electrification.





Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong vs China, Russia, and North Korea



Europe vs Africa







Israel, the UAE, and Qatar vs the rest of the Arab countries



Puerto Rico and the US vs Cuba and Haiti





Some specific examples are quite stunning:Obviously economic freedom and electrification are not directly correlated in every case, but there's definitely something to it.(H.T. Carpe Diem Note: River boats on the Nile don't count.For a night map with political borders, Georgia Tech has a great one running through Google Maps here