How does the Heritage Foundation measure economic freedom?

The property rights component assesses the extent to which a country’s legal framework allows individuals to freely accumulate private property, secured by clear laws that are enforced effectively by the government. Relying on a mix of survey data and independent assessments, it provides a quantifiable measure of the degree to which a country’s laws protect private property rights and the extent to which those laws are respected. It also assesses the likelihood that private property will be expropriated by the state.