Bahrain Named As Freest Economy In MENA Region

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com, London

21 January 2008

The Index of Economic Freedom 2008, published by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, has ranked Bahrain in the top 20 freest economies in the world, ahead of all of its Gulf region competitors, it emerged recently.

The only country from the Middle East/North Africa region to appear in the top 20, Bahrain was ranked 19th alongside Japan (17), Luxembourg (15), the UK (10), and Switzerland (9), and ahead of Germany (23), Sweden (27), Austria (30), Spain (31) and France (48).

The 14th annual edition of the Index ranked 163 countries across 10 specific factors of economic freedom including business, trade, fiscal, monetary, investment and financial freedom.

Bahrain’s position in the 2008 Index is a significant improvement of 20 places on last year’s ranking. According to Index data, this increase in a country’s freedom level is closely linked with faster growth rates.

The Index suggested that Bahrain has a stable, liberal and open society with a highly diversified economy, expanding at around 6% per annum. The Kingdom’s GDP is US$10.9 billion (2006), to which its financial sector makes a contribution of just under 30%.

The 2008 Index describes Bahrain as an “innovative state” with a “business-friendly environment” and highlights the Kingdom’s “commitment to economic freedom”. It also reinforces Bahrain’s reputation as one of the least oil-dependent economies in the Middle East, and confirms that nations not reliant on oil have lower inflation as well as higher employment and income levels.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), with responsibility for the Kingdom’s economic development, commented:

“We are delighted that Bahrain has achieved 19th place in the Index of Economic Freedom 2008 – the highest of any country in the Middle East including the GCC."

He continued: "To be recognised as one of the freest economies in the world by such highly regarded institutions as The Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal is a major endorsement of Bahrain’s reputation as an established location for international business and finance."“Bahrain has an open, transparent economy, with a strong track record for business freedom, which supports our rapid economic expansion. With our top 20 ranking, Bahrain stands out as the Gulf’s leading inward investment destination.”

Hong Kong was ranked as the world's freest overall economy for the 14th consecutive year in the Heritage Foundations and WSJ Index.

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