TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan jumped five places to reach No. 6 on the latest edition of the annual Index of Economic Freedom drawn up by the Heritage Foundation, reports said Thursday (March 4).

The only Asian country to score higher was Singapore, which remained at No. 1, while Asia-Pacific nations New Zealand and Australia made the list at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively. The only other countries still ahead of Taiwan were Switzerland at No. 4 and Ireland at No. 5. While those countries were described as “free,” Taiwan headed the category of the “mostly free” countries.

“An improvement in government integrity” was the main reason why Taiwan advanced on the list, with an overall score of 78.6 points, a rise of 1.5 points compared to the 2020 index — above the regional and world averages, the conservative think tank said. The nation’s score was the highest since the foundation started compiling data in 1995.

"The main problem holding Taiwan back from the top economic freedom category remains the continuing relative lack of labor freedom,” the report said, pointing a finger at the Jan. 1, 2021 rise in the minimum wage as a potential threat to productivity.

In the rankings for the Asia Pacific, Taiwan was followed by Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, with China at No. 107 on the global list as part of the “mostly unfree” category.