Assahafa.com
Morocco has emerged as the top North African country in terms of economic freedom, according to the latest Global Economic Freedom report from the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank.
The 2024 edition of the report places Morocco at 90th among 165 nations, marking a seven-spot rise from last year with an overall score of 6.46 out of 10.
This advancement secures Morocco’s top position in North Africa, outpacing Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt, Libya, and Algeria.
The index evaluates countries across five critical areas of economic freedom: size of government, legal system and property rights, sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation.
In “size of government,” Morocco ranked 66th globally with a score of 6.95, while it stood at 70th in “legal system and security of property rights” with a score of 5.31.
The country also showed strong performances in “sound money” and “freedom to trade internationally,” scoring over six and seven points, respectively, and securing a 90th-place ranking for its international trade freedom.
Each of these five categories is further divided into 26 subcomponents, encompassing 44 individual variables.
The Fraser Institute sources data from third-party reports like the World Bank’s Doing Business report and the International Country Risk Guide to maintain objectivity, ensuring its assessments reflect broader economic realities without internal bias.
In the global rankings, Hong Kong retained the top spot with 8.58 points, followed by Singapore, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Denmark.
Among Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates led, ranking 45th worldwide with 7.39 points, trailing Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. At the opposite end, Venezuela placed last globally with a score of 3.02, alongside Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Syria.
The report underlines the link between economic freedom and poverty alleviation. It notes that in nations with high economic freedom, only 1% of the population lives in extreme poverty (below $2.15 per day), compared to around 30% in countries with lower economic freedom.
Source: Morocco word news
