Interestingly, India is the world's 12th-largest economy by GDP (China is #6). So the sheer force of a large, enterprising population may mitigate an unfree economy.

I can't help but think India is ranked way way way too low on this one. There are tons o' other countries that should land between India and, well, rock bottom. Almost all of Africa, for ex. (that's like 40 countries right there) Most of S. America (another 10-15). Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal. Nearly the entire Mid East. etc....

Haven't checked the article, but such indices often look at what percentage of GDP are imports and exports. Most of the smaller third world countries have a small domestic economy, and are highly vulnerable to trade fluctuations, India has tried to develop its domestic market for reasons of both nationalism and efficiency. But I've also seen similar studies that simply counted the number of permits and licenses that a business man had to get to start up, and India was worse than many countries in those. They're opened up far more in tech than in other sectors. Email me, I can poke around ...

I think quite a number of these surveys needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The reason is the disparity in the sample size.

One of the reason why India would be ranked lower would be on parameters of corruption. But what defines corruption? Is it limited to bribes and kickbacks, i think it should also include 'recommendations' from 'colleagues & relatives' to 'fund' a 'harvard education'.

And we have seen enough of these surveys. But why will i not dismiss them completely - it shows me that i still have a 30% population that earns less than Rs 1000 a month! Make sure that you set a goal and work towards it, surveys like these are good for high socialites & party talk. Of course, building resumes also