It's a pity as it ranks #1 in this site about economic freedom: https://www.heritage.org/index/

I wonder if there are better lists that sort countries by actual freedom?

Singapore always scores poorly on press freedom indexes [1] probably because the Government owns a huge chunk of the media via MediaCorp and uses defamation laws to silence political opponents [2].

I'm always surprised that Singapore ranks so highly in economic freedoms as the government is linked to around 20% of the companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and has a massive hand in public housing [3].

[1] - https://rsf.org/en/singapore

[2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chee_Soon_Juan#2002%E2%80%9320...

[3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_and_Development_Board

I think it says a lot about how simplistic those sorts of "ease of doing business" / "economic freedom" surveys are.

Singapore is great by most metrics that are simple to measure, like how many pages a tax return is, how fast the broadband is, how many channels of hi-def television there, how reliable the trains are, how long you have to wait in line to get a driver's license, etc, etc.

However, those are actually very superficial, and more subjective, and ultimately more consequential metrics aren't captured. Things like whether the broadband is censored or not, whether there's anything interesting on TV, whether the locale around any two train stations are any different, how much a car costs once you have your license and whether there's anywhere interesting to drive...

Singapore is a poster child for what happens when you just manage and optimize all the easily measured metrics.

There is no pity at all - of all countries I know and had business in, Singapore deserve to have ranking #1 in ECONOMIC freedom. Way above any other country.

Other freedoms are totally different matter, and we may find Singapore way below most of countries here

What do you define as "actual" freedom? In Singapore I don't have to worry about getting shot, or anti-Asian physical attacks, and the excellent, clean, safe public transit system means I can get around just fine even when I am not medically fit to drive, and don't have to worry about insane healthcare expenses. Freedom is relative.

The ability to criticize the ruling party without the government locking you up or giving you exorbitant fines in response is a must for me.

As I said it's relative. For me I prioritize my own physical safety and ability to freely travel before freedom to criticize the government.

And these are mutually exclusive why? Most developed countries e.g. Europe, Japan, Aus/NZ, are very safe and I don't get thrown in jail for dissent or caned for chewing gum or executed for smoking a joint.

I didn't say they are mutually exclusive.

It shouldn’t be hard to find a better source than the Heritage Foundation.