Every year the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal produce the Index of Economic Freedom. They rate 232 countries on how well they allow people to be free regarding money, property rights, and corruption, among others. The United States is ranked 4th, right behind Australia.
The thing I found interesting was the ranking of Hong Kong (1st) and Singapore (2nd). Both have authoritarian governments, but allow a remarkable degree of personal freedom for their citizens. They are also two economies in Asia that are quite strong.
One area the US rates low in compared to other countries in the top 10, is "Freedom from Government." This is how much the government requires paperwork, bureaucracy and invasive taxes. The US also rates lower in the "Freedom from Corruption" area. This is surprising to me as well, as I haven't encountered corruption personally.
Check out the index to see how the US compares to other countries here.
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