Economic Freedom : Morocco outperforms regional neighbors
Morocco has strengthened its position in economic freedom, ranking first in North Africa according to the 2025 edition of the Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation. With a score of 60.3 out of 100, the Kingdom is ranked 86th globally out of 176 countries, placing it in the «moderately free» category.
Morocco has made notable progress, improving its score by 3.5 points compared to the previous edition. This advancement reflects the country's ongoing efforts to enhance its economic environment and attract more investment.
Breakdown of Morocco's Scores by Criterion:
Investment freedom: 75 points
Financial freedom: 75 points
Monetary freedom: 74.4 points
Tax burden: 71.4 points
Business freedom: 68.9 points
Government spending: 67.9 points
Trade freedom: 67.2 points
Morocco Outperforms Regional Neighbors
In North Africa, Morocco stands out as the only country classified as «moderately free», while other nations in the region fall into lower categories:
Mauritania (119th): «Mostly unfree»
Egypt (145th): «Mostly unfree»
Tunisia (149th): «Repressed»
Algeria (160th): «Repressed»
This ranking highlights significant disparities in economic freedom within the region, positioning Morocco as a leader. Expanding to the broader MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, Morocco ranks 7th, behind Saudi Arabia but ahead of Kuwait.
Global Rankings and Economic Freedom Trends
The top five countries in the 2025 index are: Singapore – 84.1 points, Switzerland – 83.7 points, Ireland – 83.1 points, Taiwan – 79.7 points, and Luxembourg – 79.5 points.
The report reveals that the global economy remains «largely unfree», with an average economic freedom score of 59.7—an increase of just 1.1 points from the previous year. This stagnation underscores ongoing challenges many countries face in fostering freer and more prosperous economies.
Methodology
The Index of Economic Freedom assesses the policies and economic conditions of 184 countries over the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. It evaluates 12 indicators across four main pillars: Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness), Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health), Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom) and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom).
Each indicator is scored from 0 to 100, with the final country score being the average of all 12 indicators. Countries are then categorized into five economic freedom groups:
Free: 80–100 points
Mostly free: 70–79.9 points
Moderately free: 60–69.9 points
Mostly unfree: 50–59.9 points
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