The Heritage Foundation<\/a> indicates that with a world rank of 77\/180, South Africa is fourth in the African region. The country\u2019s over-all economic freedom score improved with 0.7 in 2017.<\/p>\n Brand South Africa welcomed South Africa\u2019s improvement on the index, with GM for Research for Brand South Africa, Dr Petrus de Kock, saying the index provides some insight into dimensions of the South African economic environment as the country continues to grapple with historical challenges, and the need to spur on entrepreneurship and innovation.<\/p>\n \u201cNotable improvements for South Africa in 2018 include the improvement in the area of investment freedom, and judicial effectiveness. The latter is significant coming in a year where the administration of President Ramaphosa made investment a key focal area of its work,\u201d said de Kock.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s improvement in the rankings comes as a result of advancements in these areas:<\/p>\n How to improve things<\/strong><\/p>\n “South Africa\u2019s economic growth has decelerated because of declining global competitiveness, growing political instability, and weakened rule of law that in 2017 caused the country\u2019s investment-grade credit rating to be downgraded to junk status, denting investor confidence,” the researchers said.<\/p>\n To turn things around, the foundation suggested that:<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>\u201cWe are pleased with the upward trend of the nation\u2019s competitive performance, particularly since 2018 saw a declining global competitiveness of the economy, and South Africa also slipped into a technical recession during the first half of the year\u00a0which it moved out of after the economy saw a 2.2% rebound in the third quarter,” said de Kock.<\/p>\n