Sri Lanka slipped this year on Index of Economic Freedom by the US based Heritage Foundation, falling into a rating of 'Mostly Unfree'.
"Economic reforms undertaken to improve Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic stability and potential for growth include strengthening the management of public finance and structural reforms to foster a more dynamic private sector. However, a weak judiciary continues to undermine property rights, and the perceived level of corruption is debilitating," the Heritage Foundation noted.
Sri Lanka scored only 57.1 out of 100, compared with 59.9/100 in 2016.
"Secured interests in property are generally recognized, and there is a fairly reliable registration system for recording private property, but many investors claim that protection can be flimsy," the report also noted.