Morocco’s economy is the freest in North Africa, according to a 2019 ranking

Morocco has a moderately free economy, according to the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, an annual report compiled by Washington-based public policy think tank the Heritage Foundation and the business-focused newspaper the Wall Street Journal.

The Kingdom has significantly improved its performance in the report, released this week. Measuring the «impact of liberty and free markets» in 186 countries, the index ranks Morocco 75th in the world, behind France and ahead of Ivory Coast.

Scoring 62.9 points in this year’s edition, Morocco climbed the ranking, adding 1.0 to its overall score. Last year, the country was positioned 86th in the world, with 61.9 points only.

In North Africa, Morocco ranked first ahead of Mauritania (119th), Tunisia (125th), Egypt (144th), and Algeria (171th). Libya was not ranked by the Index of Economic Freedom.

In the Arab world, the North African Kingdom is positioned 5th, preceded by the United Arab Emirates (9th), Qatar (28th), which belong to the list of the mostly free economies in the world, Jordan (53rd), and Bahrain (54th).

Morocco's multiple financing options

The report is based on 12 main sub-indexes, including tax burden, government spending, business freedom, and monetary freedom. According to the authors of the report, Morocco made «improvements in fiscal health, property rights, and judicial effectiveness outpacing lower scores for government integrity, labor freedom, and trade freedom».

The Economic Freedom report reveals that «low labor costs and proximity to Europe» have allowed Morocco to create a «diversified and market-oriented economy». It also hailed the financial sector’s competitiveness, stressing that it gives multiple financing options.

However, it warned against the marginalized part of the labor force, stating that «the government has yet to confront other long-standing challenges that require deeper reforms, particularly in connection with ensuring the evenhanded rule of law».

Here, the report refers to judiciary independence in Morocco, pointing out that «courts are regularly used to punish opponents of the government».

For the record, the Economic Freedom ranking was topped by Hong Kong 1st, Singapore 2nd, New Zealand 3rd, Switzerland 4th, and Australia 5th. These countries have the world’s freest economies. Meanwhile, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea are at the bottom of the list.