This is Vanese Ferguson with Coffee Talk. According to the Human Freedom Index the freest place on Earth is Switzerland, followed by Denmark, New Zealand, Ireland, and Luxembourg. Syria is at the bottom of the list. The US ranks 15th and Canada fell from 11th to 12th spot. The report says the Human Freedom Index is the most comprehensive assessment of human freedom around the world and uses 87 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom including —factors like the rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and economic regulation—it measures the degree to which people in 165 countries are allowed to make their own choices. eanwhile the Fraser Institute, which compiled the list in cooperation with U.S. based Cato Institute, says 76 per cent of the world’s population living in the bottom half of countries in the index. And the gap between the top and the bottom of the index is growing. And finally, according to the latest data, 89.6 per cent of the world’s population lives in a jurisdiction that limited human freedom from 2019 through 2023 (the latest year for which they have comprehensive data). Okay. My take? I’ll give it credibility when it doesn’t include three years of Covid 19 misery.