Mubasher: Bahrain was ranked 18th in the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom, an annual guide published by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation.
With this global ranking, Bahrain is the Arab world’s freest economy, Washington's No. 1 think tank foundation said, citing its ability to maintain economic resilience and its competitive regulatory environment that boosts the levels of trade and investment.
The United Arab Emirates came in the 25th place globally, and second regionally. The report issued on Monday marked Qatar in the 34th position worldwide, followed by Jordan in the 46th, Oman in the 52nd, and Kuwait in the 74th.
The best global free-market economies were topped by Hong Kong, trailed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Chili, Ireland, Estonia, and UK, respectively.
The most repressed economy was Yemen, followed by Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Liechtenstein, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Cuba.
The foundation measures economic freedom based on ten factors, in which rule of law, limited government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets are included.
