Doha: Qatar has been ranked as the country with the biggest improvement in the business environment index in the MENA region, according to a recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis division of The Economist Group.

In the latest edition of its “Business Environment Rankings: Assessing the Best Places for Doing Business” report, which appraises the improvement in the business environment indices of countries and regions over a four year period, Qatar had a 0.93 change in score from 2019–23 to 2024–28, with financing being the country’s most improving category, making it the fifth most improved country in the rankings, EIU noted.

The EIU’s business environment index gauges in advance which economies are better placed for growth than others, pulling together 91 indicators spread across 11 different categories to give a comprehensive overview of the attractiveness of doing business in 82 countries and territories around the world.

The categories include: Political environment, the macroeconomic environment, market opportunities, policy towards free enterprise and competition, policy towards foreign investment, foreign trade and exchange controls, taxes, financing, the labour market, infrastructure and technological readiness.

Topping the list of the most improved countries is Greece, with a change in score of 1.38. It is followed by Argentina at 1.32, while India (1.08) and Angola (1.01) joined Qatar in completing the top-five list.

The report noted that Qatar has implemented a $220bn investment programme over the past decade, mainly focused on infrastructure and its business environment has benefited from the expansion of Hamad International Airport, the road network and tourism infrastructure, among others.

The report predicted that Qatar and India, in particular, will continue to grow very strongly, and they are places where there are expectations of the most significant policy improvements, infrastructure investment or growth in market opportunities.

Minister of Finance, H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, stated recently that Qatar is focusing on its journey towards economic diversification, with four key sectors, namely logistics, ICT, manufacturing, and tourism, being the major drivers.

“Beyond 2022 we continued our journey and focused more on economic diversification, enabling the private sector about changing the policies and ease of doing business, focusing on key sectors and balancing between development of human capital, health, education, technology, environment and sustainability.

“The four key sectors we are going to be focusing on are logistics, ICT, manufacturing, and tourism. We are going to be using the enabling sector; for example, the financial sector is going to be one of the strong enablers to achieve these goals,” the minister said during a session at the Qatar Economic Forum 2024.

“We are embarking on the last phase of our journey toward the 2030 vision. When we made the vision, there were three phases. The first phase focused on creating national champions—the Qatar Investment Authority, QNB, and Ooredoo—which helped us build the brand for the country,” the minister added.

Commenting about Greece, which sees the biggest improvement in the business environment index over the period, the EIU report said, “This reflects the impact of a pro-business government, led by the New Democracy party, now in its second term, that has undertaken reforms, cut taxes and boosted business confidence.”

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