Venezuela “tanks” in 2011 Index of Economic Freedom

Oil giant Venezuela is at the bottom of the barrel, according to the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom.

The South American country ranks 175th in a list of 179, and 28th out of 29 neighboring countries in the South and Central America/Caribbean region. The index was release today by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.

The dramatically poor rankings should come as no surprise to anybody. Rampant expropriations, strict price controls on almost all goods and services, and wild corruption in the judicial system have created an economic environment in Venezuela that undermines businesses, both foreign and domestic, and scares off private investors. The end result: Venezuela has Latin America’s highest inflation rate, a chronic electricity crisis, and the lowest current growth rate in the Americas.

To see the 2011 Index on Economic Freedom, click here.