MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman rose 39 places in the 2024 Economic Freedom Index issued by the Heritage Foundation, ranking 56th in the world compared to its 95th rank in 2023.
The index covers 184 economies to measure the level of economic freedom based on 12 sub-indices divided into four pillars: the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and open markets.
The Economic Freedom Index documents the positive relationship between economic freedom and a range of social and economic goals, and economic freedom is closely linked to healthier societies, a cleaner environment, increased per capita wealth, human development, democracy, and the eradication of poverty.
The Sultanate of Oman’s score advanced to about 62.9 out of 100, classifying its economy as “somewhat free” instead of “mostly not free” last year, as it exceeded the global and regional average, noting that the classification includes 5 groups.
The more it advanced toward 100, the freer its economy was.
The Sultanate of Oman recorded the largest noticeable progress in the financial health index, as its score rose from 12.1 in 2023 to 73.8 out of 100 this year. This progress is attributed to clear reasons, the most important of which is the decrease in the proportion of public debt to the gross domestic product and the recording of a surplus in the public financial budget.
It also achieved high results in other indicators, most notably the tax burden index, which reflects marginal tax rates on both personal and corporate income and the general level of taxes (including direct and indirect taxes imposed by all levels of government) as a percentage of GDP, where it obtained a score of 97.6 out of 100.
The Monetary Freedom Index, which analyzes the extent of price stability and the extent of microeconomic intervention, with a Oman received a score of 80.3 out of 100.
The Trade Freedom Index, which measures the extent of the impact of tariffs and non-tariff barriers on imports and exports of goods and services inside and outside the country, Oman achieved the result 76.2 out of 100.
The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the National Competitiveness Office, in cooperation with the National Programme for Investment and Export Development (Nazdaher), seeks to achieve a high rank in the index by developing an action plan in partnership with other concerned parties to reach the goal of Oman Vision 2040 so that the Sultanate of Oman is among the top 40 countries in the world.
The National Competitiveness Office is working to follow up and improve a number of international indicators, especially those included in the vision document, in coordination with the relevant authorities. This is an effort to achieve advanced competitive ranks in international indicators, which contributes to raising the performance of the Sultanate of Oman in the Gulf, regionally and globally. — ONA
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