This year's score, provided by the Heritage Foundation, has slightly improved compared to last year, as Morocco got 2.1 points higher than last year's, reflecting small increases in six of the 10 economic freedoms.

Morocco also ranked 12th out of 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, explained the foundation, which is a think tank whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise.

The think thank has found that “Morocco's economy benefits from relatively high levels of business freedom, monetary freedom, and investment freedom.”

It also explained, in a press release published on its website, that foreign and domestic investments receive equal treatment, and that the small but growing financial sector is fairly well developed for the region.

The foundation thus hailed the government's reform efforts in recent years, especially in terms of simplifying the tax regime and improving the transparency of fiscal management.

The institution stressed, however, that although privatization has been steady for about a decade, “the state maintains at least partial ownership across a broad spectrum of sectors.”

It also added that Morocco scores less well in labor freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption, while for it the judiciary is “inefficient” and subject to corruption.

Morocco thus scores 76.2 in business freedom, 68.0 in trade freedom, 65.1 in fiscal freedom, 80.5 in monetary freedom, 60.0 in investment freedom and 50.0 in terms of financial freedom.

Concerning government size, Morocco got 76.5, while it received 35.0 in property rights, 35.0 in freedom from corruption and 30.8 in labor freedom.